


Reluctant Magus

by WritinRealSlow



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, F/F, F/M, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Magic-Users, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Original Fiction, Other, Urban Fantasy, Violence, Work In Progress, future setting, sarcasm warning, talk of sex and relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritinRealSlow/pseuds/WritinRealSlow
Summary: Forced by his family to attend a college for the magically inclined, Leif is thrust into academia with a chip on his shoulder and a distinct lack of preparation. Facing classes, new friends and enemies, a world in which demons hunt his kind for fun and, worst of all, his sister, what's a guy who just wants to do as little as possible supposed to do about this?
Kudos: 1





	1. Beurocracy and Beginnings

“And here we are! Just look at this place, it hasn't changed a bit!” Aria announced happily, pausing to lean back and stare up at the massive stone building. This left me plenty of time to lug the, at minimum, eighty pounds of luggage up those last few stairs. With great dignity and machismo, I collapsed on top of the suitcase with a groan and my best impression of a dog on a summer day.  
“Oh, don't be a baby. The stairs are a great warm-up for your new life here. You'll be climbing stairs and training every day!”  
“Not with... your shit... too” I panted back. Why didn't I think to bring a water bottle? I should have figured she'd make me carry her crap too. It didn't matter how old she got, she'd still be the same annoying brat she'd always been.  
“Just think of how much easier it'll be next time you climb them! Now shut up and behold the building.”  
Throwing her a dirty look, I straightened back up and took in my surroundings.  
Admittedly, it was an impressive sight. The building was absolutely massive, a far cry from anything we had back home. It had to be at least five stories high and crafted entirely from a white stone of some kind, marble maybe? Twin oak trees, ancient and huge, grew to either side of the front door, shading the cleanly trimmed grass. Over the front entrance lay a large arcing sign, carved of a dark grey stone, the letters set in a black rock.  
“Amaduran Magus Preparational College, founding year 2053.” I read aloud, hoping the despair I felt didn't paint my voice as much as I felt it might. Apparently, it did.  
“Don't sound so down!” Aria chided cheerfully. “This is the start of your future! You have so much to look forward to! Ah to be young again!”  
Deep breath. Calm breath. Don't strangle her, you'd be the first suspect. “Aria.” I calmly started, hoping I could keep it that way. “I told you I didn't want to go here. I would have been just fine with the schools we had at home. And you're five years older than me. STOP ACTING LIKE AN OLD WOMAN!” No dice.  
“Hush you.” She chided. “Someone with your potential would be wasted back home. And whether you admit it or not, it's important that you get at least a year of schooling here. Demons are a constant threat, and without the proper education you'd be a sitting duck if anything happened. Now let's go. Administration takes an eternity.” And with that she marched through the front doors and out of sight, leaving me with the bags and cases. Again.  
Grumbling miserably, I grabbed at the bags again, and started dragging it towards the door. So this is where the term 'luggage' comes from I pondered.  
` “Gods above, how did my life come to this?” I muttered darkly to myself. It was a rhetorical question of course. I knew how it had happened. I’d been there after all. I could remember it like it was yesterday. Or three days and a handful of hours, with a time zone change thrown in for good measure if you wanted to be precise.

“Leif, thank you for taking the time to talk to us.”  
My mother spoke in the tone of voice I’d learned to associate with her whenever she was preparing one of the many lectures she gave over the years.  
I glanced wryly at her over the spoonful of cereal in my hand. “Well I AM surrounded. I don’t think me choosing to take this time to talk to you was in the cards.”  
Smiling knowingly, she folded her hands into her lap and straightened her back. As of late, her smile had been more tired than usual, her eyes weary with all the thoughts moms tend to have that keep them up at night. She absentmindedly brushed a graying strand of her long auburn hair from her face. Gray? That was odd, I’d never noticed that before. There were slight shadows under her silvery eyes as well. “Well, yes. But I think we both know that this was probably the best course of action for holding your attention.”  
My father chuckled, nodding in thanks as Aria handed him a mug of coffee, crossing her arms and leaning against the stairwell. “Let’s not mince words Cedar.” He said. “This is the ONLY way to make sure he’ll stay and pay attention. We all know he finds his ways to avoid things he doesn’t like. Say, chores, for instance.”  
A grin threatened to break out on my face at that last bit. My dad and me had this sort of running contest: We’d try and see who could get out of the most chores around the house, and the winner would get the rights to smugness for the few glorious minutes before mom decided to assign another, possibly out of spite. I suspect she was in on it.  
“Come on dad, I don’t try to get out of everything I don’t like. I went to school for twelve years, didn’t I?”  
Dad scratched at the back of his head where his hair had started to thin the last few years. He told me he used to be blond like we were when he was a kid, though that was hard to envision. I could only really picture him as he was now, with his stubbly beard, brown top and slight podge. The idea of him being blond (or looking anything like me for that matter), was something I had a very hard time imagining. “True enough. You probably could have gotten out of that without too much trouble. Though speaking of...”  
A sinking feeling formed in my gut as he threw a sort of “take it away” type gesture at Aria. They wouldn't.  
“College.” She said. “You’re going to one. Specifically, Amaduran. You know, the school I went to?”  
They would.  
Swallowing my cereal, I set down the spoon and turned to look at my older sister with the most neutrality I could muster. She matched it with the smug little smirk usually only seen the moment before announcing she’d be babysitting. You know, the annoying kind.  
I wouldn’t let her get to me this time.  
“A couple things wrong with that statement.” I began in a calm voice. “First of which, I never signed up. Secondly, that’s a magus only college. Pretty sure I don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of people training all day to kill things, it sounds the opposite of what fun is. Third, no I’m not you control freak. Go suck on a salty sausage.  
“Don’t talk to your sister like that Leif.” Mom interjected indignantly.  
Aria waved her off. “It’s okay mom, I’ve got this covered.”  
A familiar dread formed as she flipped her hand, materializing a shimmering golden dagger, floating an inch from my face and pointed right between my eyes. “Let’s see…. My retort?” She tapped her lip thoughtfully. “Oh yes. I signed you up, don’t make generalizations about the people you’ll be living with, and yes you are you little brat.” She ticked each point off on her fingers, smiling cheerfully all the while. Or at least I assume she did. I was busy going cross-eyed watching the tip of the blade. She sounded like she was smiling though.  
“Oh, and it’s much safer for you there than it would be staying with mom and dad. At this point, what you want matters a lot less than that.”  
“Don’t talk like that Aria, there’s always a choice. And you know the rules, no blade magic in the house.” Dad scolded in a tired voice.  
Aria sighed dramatically and lowered her hand, the dagger falling apart into fading motes of light. “Sorry Daddy. I’m just so used to using it every day, you know? It’s a reflex.”  
“So it’s a reflex to threaten your brother?” Dad asked, even more tiredly.  
“I don’t think I should answer that.” She replied in a sunny voice before turning back to me. “Look Leif, the point of all this is that you’re making nothing of your life, wasting your potential, and really bugging me every time I come over and see you laying on the couch just reading or gaming for hours on end.”  
She was only partly wrong, but I still felt indignant. “That’s not all and you know it. I do plenty of other things and you know it. I have a job, I go places. I spend my time just fine.” I was prepared to continue, but Aria put her hand up. Sans floating knife, thankfully.  
“Oh, I’m aware. You work part time at that one gas station. You spend your free time when you’re not here at the library or the gym or most often eating somewhere.” She waved it off dismissively. “What you don’t do is move your life forward. You do the same things every day, over and over. For crying out loud, when was the last time you did something different? Something outside of the little routine you’ve gotten stuck in for the last year?”  
I would have liked to retort to that, but I had nothing. Now that I was forced to consider it, she had a point. My life had become unchanging. Stagnant. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d approached any of my usual activities with the enthusiasm I’d given them half a year ago. Oh god, I really have been wasting my life.  
Not that I’d ever admit that to her. Besides, there was an important question popping up from all that.  
“Have you been stalking me?” I asked suspiciously. There was no way she could have gotten all that just from Mom and Dad.  
“Not important.” She waved me off again. “And the subject change isn’t gonna work, baby brother.” She jabbed her finger at me. “You’ve chosen to sit in a stagnant routine, and they…” She pointed behind her at our very guilty looking parents, both of whom were taking remarkable interest in their coffee. “Have chosen to let it happen. And considering all that, I’ve decided, for the good of everyone, you’re going to break out of it and make something of your life. And Amaduran is the best place for that to happen.”  
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed and stood up slowly, placing my arms at my side as I looked her right in the eyes.  
Whether the eyes really are the window to the soul is up for debate, but get to know anybody well enough and their eyes can tell you more than they’d realize. Looking into Aria’s, I didn’t see spite or a sense of superiority. All I saw was one hundred percent conviction, the pure, straightforward belief that what you’re doing is right. She really, truly believed she was doing what was best for me. And I hated it. Whenever I saw that in her eyes, whatever happened next was never, ever decided by my choices alone.  
“Leif, go to the college.”  
I looked to my mother in surprise. I had all but forgotten she and dad had been there. “Mom?”  
She smiled, the faint weariness in her eyes replaced with a similar, if softer form of conviction. “I know you don’t like that so many Magi join the military, and I know the pressure of being Aria’s younger brother has never been easy. But I know you realize that you need to move on to the next stage of your life. I-” Her smile waned ever so slightly as she grasped my father’s hand. “We haven’t been the ones to help you to move on for purely selfish reasons. But I am your mother, and I want what’s best for you. So please, go with your sister. College is the next step to the person you will become.”  
Well damn. How could I argue with that? Probably very easily if I had wanted to. But nobody with a heart would, and I’m only lazy. I’m not heartless.  
Dad set down his empty coffee and grinned. “Also, we’re instating rent if you stay.”  
“WHAT?” I shot out of my chair, slamming my hands onto the table.  
“Oh yeah. It’s expensive to feed and keep you, so it only seems fair.”  
Somewhere in the background I could hear my sister laughing herself to death, but most of it was drowned in the crushing despair that settled on me like a landing plane.  
“How much?” I asked weakly.  
“Five hundred per month. Meals extra.”  
I could only stare at my father as he regarded me with cool superiority, smiling with hands folded. He knew he had me cornered.  
Sighing heavily, I dropped back onto the chair and propped my chin on one hand. Closing my eyes, I just sat in silence, preparing myself for what I was about to do. I felt sick.  
Opening one eye, I looked at my sister. “So.” I started in a weak voice. “When should I pack?”

Of course, if I’d realized she’d make me carry everything myself, I wouldn’t have packed nearly so much. I considered bitterly. I could have had it all mailed or something.  
“Do you want some help with that?”  
The soft voice broke my train of thought and I looked up from my suitcase shackles to see a beautiful, dark-haired girl around my age standing in the walkway in front of me; my own merciful angel.  
“Hah?” Brilliant response Leif. Behold the eloquence of my wit, oh mysterious beauty. Do not pretend to be unimpressed, the truth is all too obvious.  
“Do you want some help?” she asked again. “That looks like a lot for one person.”  
Words to make angels cry. Or maybe just me. Manly tears of course. Manly, happy tears. “I'd love some. Meif.” I shook my head once, trying to get the words out right. “I’m Leif.” I smiled awkwardly, hoping I didn’t seem too weird. The climb hadn’t left me a lot of air to work with. Even then, my words just sort of melded together sometimes.  
I blame my brain. It’s the most likely culprit. At least the internet had honed my sarcasm.  
The girl just smiled, unbothered by my small trip-up. “My name is Sofia Valencia. May I take a bag for you? “  
“Can you grab these two?” I shook the cases on the very edge of my death grip. “I’ll probably need functioning wrists in the future, and these aren’t exactly helping.  
With a small laugh and a nod, she took them gently from me, waiting patiently as I repositioned the remaining Sisyphean deadweight I’d been carrying. We walked the rest if the way in silence. Well, she was quiet. I was breathing heavily. Even down two suitcases, the trial of getting this far left me exhausted.  
“Please, come in. Welcome to Amaduran.” she said with a smile, holding the door for me.  
“Thanks.” I gasped back, walking through with a return smile. Or I tried to anyway. I’m pretty sure it was closer to bared teeth and curled lips. Nonetheless, I made it into the lobby and let everything drop, an apocalyptic crash accompanying my arrival as I basked in the glory that is air conditioning.  
I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but at that moment I truly believed that air conditioning may have been the best argument that yes, there is some kind of god out there. And they definitely want us to be happy.  
“Geez, you take forever. But hey, you were able to find some help! I told you you’d like the people here, didn’t I?”  
Oh right. I'd forgotten about my misery made flesh. My proof that god also hates me in particular and loves to watch my suffering with schadenfreudic glee. And she was standing right next to the sign in desk with a clip board in hand. Wonderful, I had bureaucracy to look forward to next. But before that...  
I straightened, holding up a finger. “Okay first off, you left me with eighty pounds of luggage that I carried up three hundred steps in ninety-degree weather. How long did you think it would take?”  
Aria gave a blasé shrug. “Who knows, maybe three seconds if you’d have used your magic like someone with a brain? And even if you proved too lazy to put that effort in, I had assumed that you could handle twenty more feet without tapping out and needing help from...” She paused to smile at the girl still holding the extra suitcases. “…This nice girl. I’m sorry you had to help my brother but thank you anyway. I’m Aria, and this is Leif, it’s nice to meet you miss…?”  
“Ah, I'm sorry.” The girl gently set down her load and bent into a deeply formal bow. “I am Sofia Valencia. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Aria.”  
“No no, the pleasure is mine. Thank you for helping my brother Sofia.” Aria tilted her head with a gracious smile, much to my surprise. It was rare to see her so polite. To me anyway, everyone else was usually safe.  
I lacked the tactful grace Sofia had shown earlier, just dropping everything I was carrying the moment I got inside after all. Still, I offered her my hand with an actual smile, not the grimace wearing the skin of one I’d given her before. “It's nice to meet you Sofia, thanks for the help. My name's Leif. Leif Harmony.”  
Sofia took my hand with a small smile and shook it lightly. “It's a pleasure to meet you Mister Leif. You are new here, correct?”  
I sighed and nodded. “Not by choice, but yes. But seeing as I lack anywhere else to go right now, I'll just have to deal with it.” Whining is still considered dealing with something, right?  
“I-” Sofia began.  
“Whining will get you nowhere.” Aria so rudely cut in, lightly hitting my head with the clip-board. Oh god, could she read my mind now? “Mom and Dad both agree that this is the best place for you right now. It's not like you were doing much at home anyway.” She withdrew the board and wrote quickly on the paper attached, setting it in front of the worker with a brief smile.  
“Hey I was-!”  
“Sitting around playing games and reading fantasy all day long.” she finished for me in a bored tone, staring at me with an equally bored expression. Sofia took a small step back and stood quietly. She was too smart to inject herself into this. “Why read fantasy when you can live the life yourself?”  
“Well I-”  
“Had no plans for the future, a part time job you barely cared about and no intention of pursuing anything else at the time?” Aria interrupted again. “Yeah I know. That's why I signed you up for this place. And seeing as you have nothing important to return to anytime soon, you'll be sure to make the best of this place, won't you?”  
It takes a big man to admit when he's beaten. I am not counted among their numbers, so I just decided to table the discussion until I could think of a witty enough comeback. Go me.  
“Um. Ms. Harmony?” came a hesitant voice.  
The three of us turned to find that the man who ran the front desk had returned. The poor man probably didn’t want to get into this either, but he was contractually obligated to talk to us.  
“Yes?” Aria offered a sweet smile, causing him to visibly relax.  
“The um... Everything checks out. You and your brother can meet the administrator now.” He pointed to a door with the words “Administrative Management” pasted on the glass in gold lettering. In hindsight, a pretty obvious place to go. Also weird, considering most offices just said “administration.” “She'll give him his room number and schedule. Was there anything else you needed?”  
Aria shook her head and thanked him, flashing another smile that probably made his entire work load worth it. “Let's go Leif. The next bureaucratic step to your future awaits!” she declared, starting off towards the door.  
“Uh... what about the-?” I motioned to the baggage.  
“Leave it. We'll grab 'em when we finish up!” She called back, leaving me with nothing to do but wave to Sofia and jog off after my sister. She waved back, still holding the bags she had taken from me as the door closed.

Tick tick tick tick tick. The severe looking woman that was the administrator had been typing away at her computer in stone cold silence for nearly ten minutes after the initial introduction. She hadn't even looked at us in that time span. With her lightly gray streaked hair up in a tight bun and her glasses with the little neck chain she certainly looked the part of a psuedo-military school administrator. That or the world's most stereotypical librarian.  
To her credit, Aria also managed to be quiet the entire time. Sure, she sat with her arms crossed and on finger continually tapping her arm, but she managed to wear only a mildly impatient expression as she maintained an almost unblinking stare at the woman on her computer.  
As for me, I took this time to look around the office. From the seat anyway, though there really wasn't much to see. Aside from the massive wooden desk at the center, the office was pretty barren. Two bookcases stood on either side of the desk, chock full of binders labeled with tiny letters written with immaculate handwriting, and several very large tomes. On the wall behind us was only a silently ticking clock and a painting of a field of flowers. Utilitarian may have been the better descriptor.  
The desk itself was slightly impressive. It was huge and made of a dark wood, maybe oak? The only things on the desktop were the computer the woman was still typing on, an open binder she had paged through near the beginning and a name plate. “Ms. Catherine Orville.” The metal of the plate was slightly tarnished on the bottom right corner, though it would be hard to tell without close inspection. You pay attention to the smallest details when bored out of your mind.  
Around the time I was wondering if death by boredom would be the next day's headline, the sound of typing stopped. Madame Orville looked away from her computer for the first time in an eon and peered disinterestedly at me over her glasses.  
“I hope you understand that your life here will be very different from what you are used to.”  
Holy crap. Her voice wasn't anywhere near what I had guessed it would be. I had assumed she'd sound bored and dusty, like how I felt after sitting there for so long. But it wasn't. She had a very smooth, authoritative voice; clear and strong.  
“Y-yes ma'am.” I didn't know what else to say.  
“Ms. Aria.” She addressed my sister with the exact same tone. Neither disrespectful nor with any notion of friendliness.  
“Ah, yes?” she answered in a much calmer voice than I expected. If the wait had been boring for me, it had to be torture for my sister.  
“I understand that you are the one that applied for your brother to be accepted into this academy. I also understand he had not gone to a specialized school before us and has no notable record or recommendations other than from yourself to attest to why he should be here. However, given your standing and how strongly you expressed your desire for him to be here,” she gave a rather pointed look over the rims of her glasses. “He was accepted fairly quickly. I just wish for you to understand how this may appear.”  
“I do understand Ms. Orville. And I wouldn't have put in a recommendation like that if I didn't have one hundred percent faith in him. My brother belongs at this school. He'll do its legacy proud.”  
The genuine conviction in my sister’s voice surprised me somewhat. She really sounded like she believed in me as much as she said she did. Of course, I knew her well enough that I wasn’t completely taken in. And because I knew her so well, I was reasonably wary of the possibility she was lying. She'd say I farted The Angel's own miracles if she thought it would get her what she wanted.  
Ms. Orville only looked at us both in turn over the rims of her glasses once more. My sister wore an expression of honest conviction. I went more for something more along the lines of resolute blankness.  
Finally, Ms. Orville let out a sigh and leaned slightly back in her chair. “I understand. I simply wished to inform you of the potential issues that may rise from it.” She got up from her chair with a nearly inaudible noise of strain and moved to the bookshelves, scanned them over methodically, and eventually grabbing a binder and opening it on her desk.  
“So there are no other problems?” Aria asked as Ms. Orville wrote in the binder and turned back to her computer, typing away with rapid strokes.  
“Not a one. Now if you would just leave, I can get him situated.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“You may leave. And if you would take this with you, I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy your time.” Ms. Orville replied calmly, pulling out and handing to Aria a slip of paper from a desk drawer.  
Aria took the paper silently and looked it over, gaining a frown that only deepened as she read further down. “Captain Harris asked you to give this to me?”  
“Yes. He asked that you be given it before you left my office. Now, if you don’t mind?” She motioned to the door.  
“I can't leave just yet!” Aria protested, putting her hands on the desk and leaning forward. “I wanted to take Leif around the campus! I was going to show him his room and where his classes would be!”  
This was news. I slumped a bit, hoping that if anything remotely benevolent and god-like was listening, Aria would just leave. It was bad enough I was strong armed into coming here, being introduced to the entire campus by my older sister would be unbearable!  
Luckily, either my prayers were answered, or Ms. Orville was an angel in disguise because she was having none of it.  
“Nonsense. The message is clear. Trust that your brother is in good hands and go.” With the tone she used, I doubted a demon would argue with her that point. But would Aria?  
Evidently not. Aria huffed out an annoyed breath and stood up without responding. She did take a moment to ruffle my hair and kiss my forehead though. Her evil knows no bounds.  
“Now you be good. And remember: I'll see you in a few days to see how things are.”  
“Thanks for the threat mom. Will you just go already?” I replied in a tired voice.  
Aria giggled as she left, patting my head once more as the door shut behind her. And of course, that left me alone with the most terrifying woman I’d ever met and all the silence in the known universe rushing in to accompany us.  
Moments of silence passed. “Just us then.” I spoke first, careful to keep my voice neutral.  
The woman didn't reply initially. She simply looked me over calmly, the way some people do that lets you know they’re aware of everything you’re doing. It's unnerving.  
“I wasn't joking you know.”  
“Eh?” I asked, caught off guard by the sudden broken silence.  
“Things will be different for you here. Especially with how well known your sister is.”  
Oh good. This crap again. “Look Ms. Orville, this won't be a new thing. I'm very used to people knowing who my sister is. It's not something that you can escape from, having a famous sister when you live in small town. And it's not something that people are bound to let you forget for more than five minutes either. I'm used to people talking about her and her accomplishments all the time. I don't care anymore.”  
That was, of course, a total lie. Which I'm sure this woman could see through like a window, though it was nice of her to wait for me to finish my little rant without interruption.  
“I'm quite sure. However, you need to understand. Your sister is a bit of a celebrity here.”  
It hurt my nose how hard I snorted at that statement. “She's a celebrity everywhere! I thought I was clear about how much I understand this!”  
“You misunderstand me Mister Harmony.” She replied in a stern voice. My mouth with a snap. “What I mean to say is that this is where her fame started. You will have many of the same instructors as she did. All of which remember her quite well. There are students here that were in classes with her. There are graduates that work with her now who still visit this school.” Ms. Orville took her glasses off and looked me in the eye. “Put frankly, you will have to deal with your relation to her here more than nearly any other place you could care to name. I hope you understand that now.”  
“Well f- crap.” I said, looking down quickly. Now I knew why Aria wanted me to come here. In her twisted little mind, a place like this was perfect. A constant reminder of how awesome she was would be great incentive to be amazing myself.  
“Indeed, it won’t be easy when people find out.” Ms. Orville replied like she had heard my entire thought process. When, not if. “That said, I must ask you. It was not your choice to come here, was it?”  
I looked back up at her to see the first change to her calm visage since I had entered her office. A sort of understanding sympathy.  
I shook my head. “Not really no. I was kind of forced here. I mean, I admit that I wasn't really making much of myself at home, but I still wish I'd have had a choice in the matter, ya know? But nope, I was just signed up and dragged here by my dear sister.” Huh. That last part came out more acerbic than I had intended.  
For her part, Ms. Orville seemed understanding. She nodded sympathetically while clicking the mouse.  
“I do understand that you may feel embittered about this. But I would like you to understand something. Feeling angry at your lack of control over your life will not grant passage to any delinquencies you may perpetrate while on the premises.”  
“Hah?”  
“You are expected to act as an adult while here. Do not break the rules. Try to stay out of trouble.” She clarified.  
“Ah. Right, that goes without saying.”  
“Does it? Do try not to take this the wrong way, but you don't strike me as the type to be able to keep your emotions from affecting your actions. Whether your sister exaggerated how capable you are or not, you strike me as an embittered young man, angry at his current lot in life.”  
“I-...” I didn't know what to say to that. Any denial I made would just make me a liar. On top of  
being “an embittered young man.”  
“I have seen many students in my time here, Mister Harmony. I have learned how to spot troublemakers. And you may be the type to make trouble when pushed. Which I would assume happens often, judging by the less than respectful tone you’ve adopted.”  
I sunk down in my chair and stared at the floor, feeling defeated. This was all off to the worst start I could hope for.  
“However.” She continued.  
I looked up again.  
“You do not strike me as a criminal. Nor do I feel you will go out of your way to cause trouble while here, even given the situation you’ve landed in. Therefore, I feel that allowing you the chance to prove yourself, just as we do with every student to walk these grounds, will be perfectly acceptable. Just know that your relations will not be factored into how you’re treated here. If you choose make trouble or success, the consequences will depend on you.” She gave me a pointed look over the rims of her glasses before turning back to the binder she had obtained, opening it smoothly.  
I felt respect for the woman grow inside me. She was willing to treat me like anybody else. My sister didn’t even factor into her opinion on me. I could get used to people seeing me that way.  
“Now then.” She interrupted my thoughts in a very business-like voice. “With that out of the way, let me be tell you what to expect of your new life here."  
I nodded and waited quietly.  
“Classes and exercises are Monday through Friday, generally taking place between eight in the morning and seven at night. You are expected to be on time and alert, no matter what time your classes may fall on. There will be no handholding, this is not a high school. If you should miss a class, it’s on you to make it up. You will have weekends and some holidays off unless instructed otherwise. As you and many other students have never been to a Magus specialized school before, your first lessons will entail the basics of training your abilities until your instructor decides that you are ready for more advanced lessons.”  
“Other students?”  
“Yes, the other students. This is a school, there tend to be many of them.”  
I smiled a little at that before explaining my query. “Well yes, but I didn’t think there would be many with no training like me.” Well, maybe not no training. But nothing formal at the very least. “This school’s pretty well known after all.”  
Madame Orville pushed her glasses back up before answering, glancing at me under the rims. “You are not wrong. This school is indeed very well known. However, the point of this school, and all others like it, is to prepare those with the potential to be magi for the lives ahead of them, filled with uncertainty as it is. On that note.” She continued, “While you may not be hoping to become a demon slayer or a battle magus, please note that you will take part in self-defense courses, as they are mandatory due to the nature of a magus' lifestyle.”  
As she explained all this Ms. Orville went back and forth between sort through the binder she had taken out and typing at the computer rapidly. Every now and then the printer would start up and she would place the outcome in a small pile.  
“On a separate note, you will be given a room in the dormitories. You will live with the roommate paired to you until either you or the school find it necessary to put you in another room or find a replacement. Food shall be supplied in the cafeteria thrice a day, and you shall be expected to manage your own nutritional intake. There are facilities where you may buy extra food on the premises, but you will have to supply your own money for it. The city of Sudhir is a half mile from the Academy. We have a well-maintained relationship with them, and you may go there in your free time. But while there you act as a representative of Amaduran Academy. I trust you understand what that entails.” Another pointed look. “Are there any questions?”  
“Uhm...” Was my incredibly clever reply. In my defense, she had just dropped a twenty-pound bar of information on my head with the expectation that I would just cope. Good thing I'm of at least middling intellect.  
“No, I think I got everything. So I start class in the morning then, yeah?”  
“Yes. I apologize for your lack of time to prepare, but there is simply nothing we can do for that. Now, please take this.” She handed me the pile of papers that had been accumulating as we spoke, configured into a neat stack that was, I was sure, packed with more information than I would have wanted to deal with on my best day. “Give these to the man at the front desk and he will give you directions to your room and the relevant information you’ll need for the present time. Now if there's nothing else, you may go.”  
And with that politely curt dismissal, she turned her attention back to her desktop and began typing at the speed of a secretarial woodpecker. I got the feeling she gave the same goodbyes to everyone she spoke with. Standing and moving to the door, I was half way out when she called to me one last time.  
“Ah yes. Mister Harmony?”  
“Yes ma'am?” I resisted the urge to salute.  
She smiled slightly, causing her entire face to change as lines eased out of sight and her gray eyes glinted beneath her gold rimmed glasses. “Welcome to Amaduran.”  
The door closed on that smile, leaving me staring at the gold lettering. Huh. I thought as I turned in place. Well then. Guess I’ll go find out what my life’ll be like for the next few years.


	2. Pain and Paintings

Aria stood on the sidewalk and stared at the pub door with a blank expression, willing herself to remain calm. She shivered slightly as a breeze blew down the street, stirring the folds of her clothes around her, her long hair trailing to her side with it. Rubbing her arms, she glanced up at the sky. Where it had been sunny and warm earlier that day at the school, the weather of the city had proven itself different, with clouds and buildings blocking the sunlight she had enjoyed so much earlier. She’d been in such a good mood too, before that woman had given her the hated note that now lay crumpled in her fist and pushed her out the door. Well, she hadn’t actually done that. But the way she spoke, Aria had found herself unable to argue her cause.  
“Well she hasn’t changed at all.” Aria grumbled, spite dripping from every word.  
Another breeze worked its way through the shade of the street and Aria cursed. She cursed her choice of a skirt that morning; fall was officially still half a month away, why couldn't the weather act like it? She cursed the note that woman had foisted on her, forcing her away from her brother’s important day. But most of all, she blamed Easton Harris, the pox on her life that had inflicted this experience on her in the first place.  
With a resigned sigh, she pushed the door open and walked into the pub, fully expecting to find a room infested with day drinkers, filled with the smell of sweat and bad beer and sadness. Instead, what greeted her was a quaint little scene that completely shattered her expectations. The entire room was styled to look like a literal tavern, fashioned with wooden everything, from the tables to the stools to the bar counter itself. A warm fire flickered and crackled merrily in a gated stone fireplace, a heavy looking stew pot bubbling away on a pole above it.  
Aria meandered over to the counter and pulled up a seat, discovering the bar stools to be quite comfortable, and the counter carved in places with names and small animals. Two chalk boards hung on the wall, one listing a variety of drinks, from beers to wines and juices, the other covered in a list of dishes and their corresponding prices, some of which made her mouth water just reading them.  
“Welcome to The Noble Steed.”  
Aria started at the voice, breathing a sigh of relief and nodding to the man who had appeared out of nowhere behind the counter.  
“Want a drink?” He asked in a bored tone, neither smiling nor frowning.  
“Warm apple cider please.”  
The man grunted in affirmation and walked through a door in the back, leaving Aria alone once again. Glancing around, Aria took note of the sparse array of paintings scattered across the walls. Most were simple: A forest scene, a knight on a horse, a boat on a still blue lake. The final piece, however, was different.  
Hanging directly over the fireplace, it depicted what Aria could only describe as the prelude to battle, all in astonishing detail. A man in tattered clothes stood in a field under a starry sky with his back to the viewer, holding a greatsword that lit the area around him with a silvery light. Opposite the man was an armored being of red and black. If she had to choose a word to describe it, Aria would call it humanoid, but the words seemed unfit for the creature. It only vaguely fit that description, with a monstrously wide chest and two sets of massive arms too oddly colored and muscular to be considered human folded across it's chest.  
Where it's torso ended, the beast began, with four clawed legs and a mighty tail, spines running from the base of its human spine down to the tip. The entire lower half was covered in green scales, its upper half cloaked in an armor made of red and black spikes with only its aforementioned arms bared, as if to say, “Check out these guns bro!”  
The creature's head caught her attention. Like the rest of its body it was armored, canopied in a dark helmet. This too was covered in spikes, but it was the front that drew the eye. A simple three slatted opening with two on the top and one pointing below, leaving all detail blocked but for four points of red.  
“Holds the eye, doesn't it?”  
Aria nearly fell off her stool at the man's arrival this time, only just managing to steady herself on the counter, dismissing the luminescent dagger she’d materialized by instinct. Ignoring her slip, he set down a large mug, steam trailing from the top. How does he do that? Aria wondered silently.  
“Yes.” She replied smoothly, a slight blush on her cheeks. “It's... interesting. What does it portray?”  
“The Wanderer. Supposedly the artist witnessed him fighting one of the Seven Generals. He ran away before he could see the conclusion, but the image stood in his mind well enough for him to make that painting.”  
“Interesting.” Aria took a sip of her cider. Then she took another to be sure of the first. The taste was smooth, with a subtle mix of sweet and tart and hints of cinnamon and... nutmeg? In any case it tasted amazing, which she told the proprietor. He nodded back with a small proud smile.  
“So. What brings you here?” He asked, cleaning a mug with a rag, possibly for authenticity’s sake. “Seems like an odd time to come to a pub.”  
“It’s three in the afternoon.” She responded.  
“I know. What brings you here?”  
Aria shrugged and imbibed in her drink again. “Well I was expecting to meet my coworker here. But seeing as he still isn't here-” Dare she hope?  
The door slammed and a voice brimming with self-confidence floated through the air. “Don't be so sure.”  
No. She dare not.  
Aria muffled her groan in another pull of cider. The bartender let out a sigh and shook his head.  
“Hello Harris.” she said in a slightly despondent tone. She had to wonder, had he been waiting outside for her to say that? She wouldn’t have put it past him.  
“Hello Aria. Been waiting long?”  
Aria cast her gaze at the man taking a seat next to her. Dressed in uniform and well shined shoes, he had his golden hair slicked back and shiny. He pushed up his glasses with his gloved hands and gave Aria a once over with a glinting smile. Aria suddenly regretted not changing out of her skirt. She'd almost forgotten how much she really didn’t like him. Almost.  
“Now that you mention it... yes.” She replied, irritated. “Is there a reason you're late for this meeting?” She made little effort to hide her annoyance with the man. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a rise, but he would damn well know she wasn’t happy with him. “The one you specifically asked me to come to?”  
“I just wanted you to have some time to calm down and enjoy yourself. You seemed so tense. I thought a good drink and some alone time would help you to relax.” Harris replied nonchalantly. “Speaking of…” He grinned at the bartender. “Hello again Paul. The usual please.” Paul gave him a look that almost said “Behave yourself” and walked into the back. Harris turned back to Aria with a smile. “I thought it would be nice.”   
It was until you showed up. Aria thought, forcing herself to take another drink and not show how angry she was to the man. Then another when she realized he had basically been wasting her time. She’d be better than him, she wouldn’t play this game. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could leave and get on with the rest of her life.  
“What do you think of the place?” Harris asked, gesturing around the room. “I like to come here whenever I'm in the area. The food and atmosphere are as perfect can be found in a city like this.” Paul the bartender returned, offering Harris a drink, who nodded in thanks and placed down some money. Aria couldn’t quite tell, but he looked a little proud as he walked over to the corner of the counter to continue cleaning. Harris took a sip and continued unabated. “A place like this is perfect for people of our esteem, don't you think? Charmingly old fashioned as it may be, it holds a certain elegance for all it has to offer here.”  
Nothing in common with you then. “What do you want, Harris? I had a busy day planned.”  
“What did you think of the painting? The one of the Wanderer and the demon?” He asked, nodding towards the fireplace. “An exquisite piece, is it not?”  
Why are you talking so weird today? Aria ignored the question. “The note said you had urgent news. What is it?”  
Harris didn’t seem to hear. “While it cannot possibly capture the true terror of an encounter with a demon, it does, if you’ll pardon the pun, paint a picture such that even the most sheltered child would understand the danger our foes present. Truly a work of art.”  
“The note.” Aria repeated, feeling strained by the effort she put into not hurting him. “An emergency. Something important.”  
“Of course,” he continued unabated. “The most beautiful thing about this place isn't even a part of it.” He smiled charmingly and gently placed his hand over hers.  
Aria stopped just short of taking a drink, slowly lowering her mug down to the counter.  
“Harris?”  
“Yes Aria?”  
“If you want to keep that hand I'd suggest moving it. Now.” No amount of calm in her voice could hide the anger in her eyes.  
That was all he needed. Quickly taking his hand back, Harris took a pull from his drink and reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded paper. “To business then. The message reached my corps not a day ago.” He shook the folded paper for emphasis. “News handed down from the top. It's of the utmost of secret natures.” He cast a pointed look to the bartender.  
The man shrugged and walked into the back room, shutting the door.  
Harris turned back to Aria and gave what she figured he thought was another charming smile. “Alone at last.”  
“Lost hand Harris.” She replied, deadpan. “Has a certain ring to it.”  
Harris coughed awkwardly and turned away, opening the paper and passing it to Aria slowly, his free hand held in the air in the hopes of pacification. “All Ophanim ranked three and higher demon slayers are being put on notice. There's been an... event.”  
Aria put down her mug and looked Harris in the eye. There was no hint of the usual glint he had in his eyes when looking at her. Or any other woman for that matter. He looked entirely serious for a change. Aria knew that it probably didn't bode well, but it was a nice change. She motioned for him to continue.  
“Last night a minor demon lord attacked the Slayer Corps compound in Sudhir City-”  
“So this city.”  
“-in the dead of night.” Harris continued. “It killed dozens of slayers and even two Ophanim before it was successfully brought down. Now we've been trying to keep it quiet, but we can only keep a lid on knowledge like this for so-”  
“How?”   
“What?”   
Aria spread her hands and raised an eyebrow. “How did it manage that? Minor demon lords are no small thing. Any slayer worth their title should have been able to sense it coming from a hundred feet, and any Ophan could do the same, easily from more than twice the normal range. And no Ophan wouldn't be able to at least MATCH a minor lord on their own, let alone when sitting in a base filled with dozens of other slayers and another with the same rank, even if they only sit at the third tier.” Aria shook her head and took another sip, watching her companion over the rim of her mug. “How did the thing manage to do any of this for two minutes before it was put down? Hell, how did it manage to even get in? It should have been reduced to a pile of viscera in a sooty crater before it could knock on the front door.”   
Harris didn’t answer, opting instead to drain his mug, slamming it down when he finished. Before the echo had stopped, the bartender had replaced the drink and left the room again. Harris sighed and took another swig before answering.  
“We don't know how it managed to get in.” Harris bared his teeth for a moment before continuing, “From what the reports say it just appeared inside. But as for the captains, both were reported to be asleep at the time of the demon's infiltration.”  
Aria raised a brow. “That's not much of an excuse. Have you ever been asleep when a demon attacked? Or even when one just showed up? It’s not the kind of thing you can sleep through.” She shuddered slightly. The memory of her first demon attack wasn't pleasant. She hadn't slept soundly for a week after, and even now she had the occasional nightmare.  
Harris nodded knowingly, sympathy in his eyes. “No clue. The idea of someone sleeping through a minor lord even walking past from a block away is laughable. But the fact remains that we've lost several squads worth of slayers in this area. And more importantly, we've lost two Ophanim.” Anger flashed in his eyes as he spoke, and the air filled with the scent of ozone as strands of Aria’s hair started floating. “Those monsters hit us hard.”  
Aria tried and failed to smooth her hair down from the static coursing from the man next to her. “Who did we lose? I was on a train all night, so I heard nothing.” She pondered silently for a moment. “Which is why you're telling me this right now I'd assume.”  
“Captain Maes and Captain Dubois.” Harris replied in a tone of subdued anger.  
Aria was sure she could actually feel her heart break as she slumped forward and, grabbed her mug, downing the rest of her cider. “Another please!” She called to Paul.”  
“Another here too.” Harris called, draining his mug a second time.  
“Aye.” Paul replied, walking into the back. Aria barely noticed either as she stared into her empty mug.  
“So you know them then.” Harris spoke in a dry tone, ironic with how much he’d just drank. “Sorry, knew.”  
The cider refill couldn’t come quick enough. Why was the bartender so slow now that she actually needed him? She sighed heavily and turned to look at Harris, resting her head on her arm.  
“Only a little. Maes invited me for dinner with his family after an assignment once. He loved using his fire magic to grill for people. His poor wife and daughter will be crushed.” She replied sadly, nodding in thanks to the bartender as he brought the drinks and took the empty containers.  
“He constantly made that ‘well done’ joke too.” Harris supplied sadly.  
Aria giggled at that. “He made it so much his family would always finish it for him. Like something out of a show.” She chuckled again, the memory of their little routine still fresh in her mind.  
“They were an odd family.” Harris agreed, making a troubled smile. “They certainly knew how to entertain, in the very least.”  
Aria nodded. “Oh, and Dubois! She spent all her free time sketching the people around her. Remember when she added that mustache and monocle to Hunter’s picture?”  
He chuckled, shaking his head at the memory. “I’m still not sure why, Hunter never takes off that blasted cowl. She had to draw them on over the face mask.” His face sobered as he gazed forlornly into his mug. “She really seemed to see the beauty in everything, always drawing in such careful detail. She was always quiet, but with such a comforting manner to it all.”   
Aria nodded and took another pull of cider and found herself wishing she could spike it. “I’ll miss them.”  
“It's a terrible loss.” Harris agreed somberly. “They were both skilled, good people. Alas, that’s the danger inherent to our job. And that brings us to the crux of what this little meeting is about.” He took a gulp and pushed the paper closer to aria. “Read up.”  
Aria opened the paper and read through, her face darkening as her gaze moved down. Setting the letter down halfway through, she turned to look at Harris calmly.  
“So if I'm reading this right, demons have been reported near Amaduran. The same school I just left my little brother in. On the outskirts of a large city where there is a sudden shortage of demon slayers present. Because of an incident we don't understand the reasoning behind.” She took a deep breath. “Am I missing anything important here?”  
Harris shrugged. “The part where you and your squad are to be stationed in the Sudhir base until replacements can be found for the men we lost. Along with mine. We'll also be tasked with fortifying the defenses of the school until the crisis has passed.”  
Aria sighed and reached into her wallet, slapping a twenty down and standing up.  
“Fantastic. Just what I wanted to be doing, today of all days. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go.” And with that she walked quickly out the door and down the street.

Pulling out her phone, Aria typed in the number she needed and put it up to her ear as it started ringing. Well at least I’ll be close by if something happens. “Come on~ come on! Pick up already!”  
“Hey.”  
“Not now Harris I'm busy... Hold on.” Aria stopped running and turned to look at her fellow captain. “What are you doing?”  
“Following you.” He replied simply.  
“Why?”  
“You didn't read the entire letter did you?” He replied, a suspiciously smug smirk spreading his lips.  
“No, but I'd like to think that I'm in an understandable hurry to get to my brother right now. So, if you've got nothing important to tell me...” She trailed off as concern started to build. That smile was worrying. Why was he smiling like that? She really wished he'd stop smiling like that.  
He didn't. He simply held the paper out smugly. “Here, have a read.”  
Aria tentatively took the paper with two fingers and opened it up, skimming down the writing. “Lesse, demon attack... dead captains... squad relocated... demons seen near school... all Ophanim need to be paired with another Ophan at all times...” Aria stopped dead, staring at the last line, its meaning slowly dawning on her. “WHAT?” She shrieked, scaring a cat out of a dark corner and across the street.  
Aria looked up at Harris in abject horror, the letter falling from her fingers along with her forgotten phone.  
“And we-... you... I-... we're not.”  
Harris grinned happily at her. “That's right, Aria! Starting today you and I will be working together everywhere we go!” His grin widened. “At work, at home, I’ll even meet your brother and see what all the fuss is about! Won't this be fun?”  
Aria didn't respond to Harris' question. She didn't notice that she had forgotten to hang up the phone before dropping it. She didn’t even hear the tiny voice calling “Hello? Are you there or not?” She was busy slumping to the ground and trying not to scream.  
“Yeah. Fun.” She answered, her tone despondent. “Lucky me.”


	3. Exploring Academia

“Oh, there you are Mister Harmony.”  
The moment I stepped out the office door, Sofia popped up in a glowingly cheerful display of affability, a friendly smile still going strong.  
I nodded to her. “Hello Miss Valencia, what are you doing still here? I'd have thought you had other people to greet. Other places to brighten up.” I wasn't completely sure if I was being sarcastic with that last part. I didn't sound like it.  
Her response was just to smile brightly and reply “Please, just call me Sofia” in a cheerful voice.  
“Only if you call me Leif. Mister Harmony sounds like the name for a music critic with an inflated ego.”  
Sofia tilted her head slight in slight confusion, then nodded with another smile. “That sounds fair. I am sorry if I insulted you Mister Leif. I was told to call everyone Mister or Miss when I was allowed to come here. Please forgive my impertinence.” She sounded genuinely apologetic. She even bowed, bending deeply at the waist.   
I was a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end of all that. None of my experience from work or school gave me any idea on how to handle someone like her.  
“Please don't bow like that. I don't know how you could possibly be considered rude after being so polite, but you haven’t insulted me in any way.” I offered my hand and smiled. “Just call me Leif. I'll just call you Sofia, and we can move past this awkwardness and get to being friends, yeah?”  
I almost regretted saying that as Sofia's eyes brightened to the point that headlights would be jealous.  
“We are... friends?” The painfully hopeful sound of her voice worried me. As did her wide, earnest eyes.  
I'm going to regret saying this, aren't I? “Yes?”  
“Oh wonderful!” Sofia rushed forward and grasped me in a squeezing hug. “Oh, I'm so happy to have you as a friend Leif!”  
“Oh good.” I rasped out, worried I wouldn’t be heard over the sound of my creaking ribs. “Can you let go? I’ll need my lungs later.”  
“Oh right! I'm so sorry!” Sofia let go and stepped back with a deep blush on her olive face. Oh, to know the sweetness of air again. The girl was stronger than she looked.  
“So...” I started, pretending not to notice her embarrassment. “Why are you still here again? I thought you'd have something more important to do than stand around chatting with me. A date or student senate or something?” Images of her collecting donations while ladling soup into bowls for homeless dogs came to mind.  
Sofia blushed again, lightly this time. “Um... no. No d-dates. And I am not on the student senate, I have only just started. I was asked by Miss Aria and Mister Berg to help you find your room and to show you around the campus. She wanted me to tell you that she might not be back in time to show you around herself.”  
Oh, thank The Angel, I’m saved. “My sister and who?”  
“Mister Berg. The man who works at the front desk?” She pointed to the check-in counter.  
“Oh him. Guess I never asked his name.” I shrugged. “So you're showing me around today then? One question.” I pointed to the ground near the desk where we had left the bags. “What happened to the luggage? I'm pretty sure I left it there. And my sister 's too great to take care of it herself.”  
Sofia motioned to the door opposite Ms. Orville's office. “I put them outside on a cart. I thought it would be too hard to carry by hand, so I put it on there to help.”  
I smiled. “You didn't have to do that. It was enough to help me get everything into the building. And even that was pretty gracious by most standards.”  
“People should always help one another when they can. I was taught that no matter what, I should always offer assistance those who need it. Sofia replied earnestly.  
My gods, this girl was a saint.  
“And it feels good to help people.” She continued. “Shall we go then? The campus is rather large and it might be prudent to leave your things at your room before we go. Maybe your roommate will want to join us!” She said that in such a hopeful voice.  
Who was I to say no? I just nodded and took the paper Ms. Orville had given me to the check-in desk to give to Mister Berg. An exchanging of pleasantries and a short chat later he gave me my schedule and room number and pointed me towards the door with a “good luck.”  
Walking out that door was the most refreshing thing I had done all day. An hour of bureaucracy is about fifty-eight minutes too long for my taste, and the day had warmed considerably since we had gotten off the train that morning, now that the sun and light breeze had chased away the clouds still snoozing in the sky when we got up.  
“Ah~, that's better.” I yawned out as I stretched. “What time is it anyway?” I asked, glancing around the area we were in. Though I was growing less concerned about the time and more impressed by the sight of it all.  
I’d been mistaken about the grandness of the outside. Looking around, the only word I could think of to describe this place was “courtyard.” A path paved with white stone lead around the edges of the squarish area, with smaller paths branching off into the between area at regular intervals. Some of the greenest grass I'd ever seen covered the ground, immaculately shorn and uniform. There wasn't a single blade nearby that reached over the edge of the path.  
Flowers were growing in areas seemingly at random, the beds placed in stone cradles that rose up a few feet from the ground. The flowers were beautiful and varied, with only a passing glance revealing dozens of different species, all growing tall and vibrant. Here and there people sat on the stone, reading or talking, evidently no longer phased by the scenery around them. Trees and shrubberies were placed near the flower beds and at regular intervals around the courtyard, shading the ground and the students. Some even bore fruit; apples, oranges, and some exotic varieties I didn’t know the names for.  
At the very center of the yard stood a magnificent fountain. “Magnificent.” Nobody uses that word. I’d certainly never used it in earnest, but it was the only word that seemed to fit in this situation. The entire structure was carved from the same white stone the paths were, glimmering in the sun as water flowed from the carvings of the birds and beasts that stretched across its surface, so large and intricately detailed I could make every single one out at two hundred feet.  
At the very top was a clock, and it was the only part that wasn't made of stone. The thing looked ancient, wrought from dark wood and black metal with a face the size of a dinner table. It wouldn't have surprised me if you could hear it ticking fifty feet down if you sat on the stone rim of the pool. I could practically hear it from where I stood.  
“Isn't it amazing? I was very surprised when I first arrived here, the courtyard is really beautiful, isn't it?” Sofia's voice broke through, snapping me out of my observational stupor. I hadn’t even realized how long I'd been staring at everything.  
Oh, so it is a courtyard. I looked back at her and sure enough, she was smiling that radiantly cheerful smile of hers. “Yeah.” I replied indifferently. “How much do we really need for a yard anyway? It must cost a fortune in upkeep.”  
She shook her head. “It’s all done with magic! I have read that the school has specialists in nature magic who work all the year round to keep it so nice! The school employs over a hundred former students to keep it running.”  
“A hundred huh?” I replied, glancing around at the spic-and-span nature of everything around us. “That sounds like the right number for this thing. Still, that's a lot of students who stick around after graduating. They must like the food.” I grabbed the trolley and started walking down the path.  
Sofia followed, shaking her head. “Not everyone comes here to become a demon slayer.”  
“Pity that.” I replied dryly. “It would make the army so happy to have more battle-ready magi around for the next time someone looks at them funny.”  
Sofia took the lead, taking me past a boy snoozing quietly on a bench under an oak tree. He twitched slightly as we passed. “I think…” She began. “That most magi don't actually want to fight demons. But we attract them more so than regular people, so we must know how to protect ourselves. We need to come to places like this to learn the best way to use our magic.” She paused, glancing up at a passing cloud. “At least that is what I am told.”  
Well, she wasn't entirely wrong. I decided to drop the subject for the time being, and quietly followed her through.  
We bid the courtyard goodbye as we turned off the path and into a small tunnel in the side of the courtyard wall, leading out onto a stone paved path lined thickly with trees. With the sun high overhead, the trees cast two walls of shade on either side of the walkway, lending a cool darkness to the benches sitting at regular intervals. Here too, I could see students, presumably returning ones, standing around and enjoying the shade. At the end of the route stood a building that looked more like a condo than anything else. “Dormitory C” was spelled out on the front.  
Sofia continued talking as we strolled towards the Dorm.  
“I am told demons are drawn to the magical ability we have, and that those with higher abilities have even higher chances of attracting demons to them. But this school is one of few guaranteed safe places in the world. I am told that even with the gathering of so many magically talented people, the school’s defenses are higher than almost any other place.”  
I took a moment to massage my shoulder with my free hand before replying. “True as that may be, I still don't get why so many people would choose to spend the rest of their lives working here. Nice as it is, I can think of several ways I'd rather spend the rest of my spell-casting life than keeping the yard nice for future generations of magical college students.”  
Sofia shook her head as we walked into the building foyer and pointed to an elevator. The lobby was fairly decked out, with soft looking furniture placed around coffee tables and a large fireplace. We moved to the elevator and hit the call button before she responded.  
“Well, it is not just in the courtyard. Former students are hired as overall staff members, working to cook, complete paperwork, and organize events. They even do most of the repair and upkeep work the school needs. I think that, apart from the teachers, almost every person who works here is or once was a student.” She replied as we pulled my things off the trolley and pushed it out of the way to get in. “I suppose it must feel like home to them. Everyone hopes for a place to call their own, or to belong. Perhaps this is simply where they find it is for them.”  
Sofia paused in her speech, her finger hovering over the buttons. Um... which floor?”  
“Fourth.” I replied, shifting the bags to look at my papers.  
“Thank you.” Sofia pushed the button and settled back quietly as the doors closed and we started to move. We stood in silence as the lights on the interface turned on and off as we rose. With a small “ping” the doors opened to reveal the hallway I'd be most familiar with for the next four or so years.  
“After you?”  
“Isn't it normally 'ladies first'?” I asked, stepping out without waiting for her to reply.  
In keeping with the theme of the place so far, it was nice here. The floor was carpeted light brown, the walls some creamy color I was sure took at least an hour to pick out. One wall had a single, long window running down the length of the hallway, letting in the early-afternoon sunlight. The view wasn't too bad either. A cursory glance out revealed the thick trees along the path were actually a small wood, stretching out maybe eighty feet from the path on both sides.  
“Well,” I mused. “If where they stay is anywhere near as nice as this, I guess I can't blame them for wanting to stick around.”  
Sofia didn't respond, instead looking around with a piqued curiosity that stirred my own.   
“Sofia,” I began, causing her to jump. “Do you live in this dorm too?”  
“Ah? Um... No, I live in the girl's only dormitory. In B.”  
I raised my eyebrows at that. “So have you ever been in here then?” I continued, starting down the hall to the right.  
Shaking her head, Sofia followed after me. “I haven't. I have never had a reason to. Before today with you that is.”  
“Mm. Well I guess there's a first time for everything.” I replied distractedly as we passed the rooms. “Forty-two... forty-three... Here we go. Forty-four.” I opened the door and strolled in.  
The theme of the day continued as, you guessed it, the room was nice. I dropped my bags on the sofa placed in front of the TV and surveyed the living room area of the dorm room. I really couldn't call it just a room though, it was basically a one floor house. The couch was barely bigger than the size of a love seat, but it looked soft and comfortable, just like the arm chair next to it. A couple side tables with lamps and a mostly empty bookshelf standing by the TV made it feel like an actual living room. “I think I'll like it here.” I was surprised how cool it was in here though. Roomie must keep the AC on full blast.  
Farther in was a small kitchen area featuring a stove, refrigerator and assorted appliances on a modestly spacious counter. There were even cupboards above and below. “Dang. If the bath and bedrooms are this nice, I might not even miss home.”  
“The bedrooms are pretty kick ass. Only one bathroom though, so I hope you're not shy.”  
I spun upon hearing this new voice, only to run into a wall. Or a chest. My slightly flatter face couldn't tell much of a difference between the two at the time and, for what it was worth, they had about the same amount of give.  
“Well that was friendly. Face hugs must be a big thing where you’re from! You okay?” Whoever it was, he had a sense of humor. I couldn't see his face, but I could practically hear the smile in his voice.  
“Yeah I’m fine.” I replied, tenderly rubbing my face. “I always say hello nose first. My dog is very proud.” Glancing back up, I could finally get a look at the guy. More than I was ready for too.  
I'm not short by any means, just a hair under six feet tall. But this guy? He was tall. Really tall. He had more than a foot over me, with the top of my head just barely reaching up to his chin. He was also shirtless, wearing only a pair of jeans. And he was... well built. And judging by his chest and the temperature of the room I was lucky to still have both eyes.  
As of late there had been a pretty pervasive trend of people dying their hair, and it seemed like my new roommate was another fan of that particular craze. But that was usually just one color, or one part. Most people didn’t seem into it enough to dye their entire head a deep dark sapphire. Well okay, not all of it. There was a chunk colored a light red as the only bit left to hang down over his left eye, the rest spiked back like in a hundred cyan knives.  
He chuckled and offered his hand with a grin. “You must be my roommate. Nice to meetcha. The name's Heath. Heath Randall.” I don't know if there's some cosmic rule that every guy built like him needs a slight accent, but he certainly followed it.  
I took his hand and shook it. “Leif Harmony. Nice hair. Chest. Dorm. Nice dorm.” Damn it!  
Heath grinned widely. “Thanks! I put a lot of work into them! Well, not the dorm. I just got here yesterday, can't take the credit for that.” He chuckled lightly and pointed a finger past me to Sofia, who was apparently attempting to blend in with the luggage. “And who's she? I didn't think I'd be sharing the place with two people.” He didn't sound all that bothered by the notion.  
“That's Sofia. She offered to help show me around the place before classes start, and I have to Lewis and Clark it everywhere I go. You know, blaze a trail to where no one’s ever…” I rolled my wrist in a “and so on” motion. “Yada yada, you get it.”   
Heath grinned and crossed his arms, regarding me with amusement. “Aren't you technically doing that today? With the guide and all.”  
I shrugged and walked back over to Sofia. Who was currently busy covering her face with the bag in her hands. The heck? This girl got odder every minute.  
Deciding not to make a big deal of it, I gently took bag from her hands and turned back to Heath, gesturing to the two doors nearby. Sofia squeaked in surprise as her cover was blown and turned her head just enough to make things obvious. Again, I decided to let it go.  
“So are those the bedrooms, yeah?”  
Heath nodded distractedly as he watched Sofia with amusement. “Yeah. They're pretty much the same size and have the same view. So if you wanted the one closer to the kitchen or something then I can just move my stuff into the other one.”  
“Nah, it's fine. I'll throw my junk in the room and continue on my merry expedition through the untamed wilds of college.” I replied, slinging my backpack and messenger bag over my shoulder and grabbing the suitcases. “Excuse me a moment.” I turned and walked through the door to my new fortress of sullenness.

Turns out the rooms really were nice. Spacious too. It was almost as big as my room back at home. Then again, this is my home now. Guess I should say back at Mom and Dad's I contemplated as I looked into the closet big enough to hide refugees in. Definitely won't need this much space. Unless they think this is where I'll be sleeping? There's a joke here somewhere. I thought as I walked back to the door. “Probably hiding in the closet as well.”  
“What is?” My new roommate asked from over my left shoulder.  
Crap, I said that out loud. And I hadn't even heard Heath and Sofia come in. Turning my head slightly, I gave him a wry look. “The last vestiges of relaxation in my life. They're scared of coming out tomorrow and being slaughtered by the burdens of academia.”  
Heath grinned. In the time it had taken me to look through my room he'd put a shirt and socks on. Now Sofia could look at him. Could, but still seemed to have trouble.  
“Should you get going? There's a lot of the untamed wilds to get through before it gets dark.”  
I found myself smiling at that. “Yeah we probably should.” I turned back to Sofia. “Okay Sacajawea, lead the way for me and Clark.”  
Sofia raised her eyebrows in perplexedly. “Um...yes. Follow me please.” She replied, walking out the door.  
Heath smirked and stood up. “So should I take that to mean I'm invited on your little expedition?”  
“Such a smart explorer you are. C'mon. Let's go do our nation proud.”  
We walked out the door and down the hall. “So why do I have to be Clark? I'd make a good Lewis.”  
“Because it was my joke in the first place. Know your place is behind my name in history Clark.”  
“I don't believe I'm in the name at all.” Sofia interjected.  
“Yeah but you get to have your own coin and be way more fondly remembered. Besides, guides are almost never given the recognition they deserve. Lead on, princess.”  
Sofia just gave a puzzled laugh and shook her head as we walked together down the hall. “Fine. Come, brave explorers. The lands of this great college await!”

The trip around the campus ended up taking a lot more time than I had predicted, with the sun already not far from the horizon as we halted at our next tour spot. The school was way bigger than I thought any college could be. Though the fact that the courtyard was about the size of the community college back home really should have tipped me off. Still, over two hours of traversing lead me to decide that no college needed to be this big. I’d probably have to buy an atlas to get from place to place on time.  
Sofia's guidance turned out to be of great help, an absolute requirement even. After the first eight dozen identical buildings with nonsensical names built by someone with either OCD or the assumption that everyone would be carrying maps everywhere they went, I gave up on attempting to remember where anything was. The expedition joke was becoming more and more apt with every passing moment.  
At the time though, the inherent humor hadn't been at the forefront of my mind. I fingered my phone in my pocket, curious about what had happened earlier. My sister's silent call was hardly the most exciting part of my day, but it still bugged me. I'd expected her to call me at some point, as nosy and clingy as she was, but that had just been weird.  
I pushed it out of my mind, shaking my head as I did so. I should have been paying attention to Sofia's didactic explanation of the campus grounds. The girl certainly knew her stuff.  
“...And this is the Johan-Somia fitness center. I believe it is recommended that all students build a fitness schedule into their daily lives, though I do not think it will be enforced in any way.” Sofia expounded, pointing to a building large enough to fit a high-school into. The front was made entirely of glass, revealing the people inside going through their regimens as she spoke.  
“Looks like Heath's favorite place.” I replied, and Heath subtly flexed with a smile. “Sofia, can I ask you something?”  
“Of course Mi- Leif.”  
“How do you remember all of this? You've been explaining every building since we left the dorms. And aside from the fitness center and the castle behind us...” I waved my hand back at the ancient looking building with Ivy growing over the ancient walls. Gargoyles loomed down from the edge of the roof. “Every building looks the same. Have you been studying this for a test? You're not an official campus guide right?”  
“What? No, nothing of the sort!” She replied with emphatic modesty. “I just looked over a map after your sister asked me to help. It was no trouble at all!”  
I suspected it was a lot more complicated and troublesome than she let on, but I never got the chance to bring it up.  
Heath raised a hand to cut in. “I've been meaning to ask, why are we doing this again? Didn't you get the tour with the introduction day? Granted it didn't really stick with me either, but you act like this is the first time seeing any of this. And that's the library.” Heath nodded to the medieval fortress behind us. By his tone, it probably seemed obvious to him.  
I made a face. “Wait, really? The other two looked like actual libraries. This looks like a prison for traitors to the state.”  
Heath shrugged. “I think it was built before the rest. The founder had some peculiar aesthetics. I kind of figured everyone was told during the official tours. Did you fall asleep or what?”  
Sigh. Well it's not like I could expect to keep my nepotistic access to the school a secret forever from this guy. We would be living together for at least a year after all. So I had to tell him my dark, horrible secret eventually.  
“I enrolled last minute and only just got here today. So yes. This is my first time seeing any of this.” Eventually. Not just yet.  
“Huh, cool. So that means you haven't seen the arena.”  
“Seen the what now?”  
Heath grinned. “Sofia, you know the way to the coliseum from here right?”  
“I believe so, yes. Did you want to head that way next?”  
“What coliseum?” I asked.  
“The one the school has.” He replied dismissively. “Yeah Soph, lead the way!”  
Sofia tilted her head. “Soph?”  
“Yeah Soph. It's your new nickname. I give them to all my friends.” Heath replied with a grin.  
“So I'm...” Sofia hesitated, breaking off the sentence. From my own experience, I could see what was coming next. I will not lie, it made me happy. “...your friend?”  
“Well sure. Unless you don't want to be. I guess we could be closer to acquaintances if you think I'm going too- GRAF!”  
Sofia grasped him in the same grapple-hold she seemed to believe was a hug that she had me. “Oh yes yes yes! I would love to be your friend Mister Randall! I'm so happy to have made another friend today!”  
Heath didn't respond. A crushed torso tends to take most of your attention. Eventually Sofia let him go and beamed at the both of us, oblivious to his wheezing gasps for good ol' oh two. Eventually he regained his composure and sucked in a deep breath. I think he may have been too busy counting any ribs left intact. It would have definitely been faster than counting the broken ones.  
“Likewise. Wanna keep moving? There’s a lot of the campus left to see before we have to head back to the food court for dinner.”  
Sofia nodded enthusiastically. “Yes yes! Let us continue on!” And she pranced off down the path.  
Heath turned to me and narrowed his eyes. “You knew she'd do that.”  
“Yeah, pretty much. My spine's still creaking from the one she gave me.”  
Heath gave me a dry smile. “She's an odd one.”  
I smiled back and started walking after our odd new friend. “She's also getting away. We'd better catch up before she decides to give us another submission ho- hug. Another hug.”  
Letting out a barking laugh, Heath motioned forward as we jogged to catch up to our happy little guide. Today might not have had the best start, but things were starting to look up. And soon after, I actually was looking up.

“You cannot be serious right now.” I craned my neck trying to take in the thousand-foot wall in front of me. Looking closer, I could see that it was a solid sheet of rock, seamless and neat as far as the eye could see. It was unadorned and unbroken, with no cracks or even windows disturbing its face.  
“Pretty sure that Coliseums aren't well known for the jokes told in them.” Heath answered, staring up with me. “They're usually known for being serious.”  
I ignored him. “Was this made with magic? Human hands do not make things this smooth.”  
“Why, yes!” Sophia replied excitedly. “The Headmaster hired several dozen earth magic specialists to build this! It took them over a week to raise it as high as it is, and then another two to shape the inside! From there it was just a matter of getting other magi to help with smaller details, like making the benches or installing the plumbing! It was one of the first buildings in the world to be entirely constructed by magic!”  
“How do you know all this?” I asked, perplexed by her comprehensive answer. “Was this one of the things covered in the legendary tours they give new students?” I would really start to regret having missed them if that was the case.  
Sophia shook her head and took us by the hands, pulling us toward the opening in the massive structure. “Not at all. I read about it in a book on the school's history. Come with me! It is even more impressive on the inside!” She pulled us right through the dimly lit tunnel and into the actual arena of the building. She was right, it really was impressive.  
It obviously took inspiration from the more historically known coliseum. The ground was a simple, unmarked floor of loose dirt and small rocks, stretching out from where we stood in the center for the length of a soccer field in each direction. The walls were the same as the outside, made of a white marble, this time covered in artwork. They covered first twenty feet of the encircling stone, stretching out around the entire bottom of the arena wall. Made of simple lines carved into the wall, they swirled in intricate, lace like designs, weaving patterns and symbols in some language I could have sworn I'd seen before. It was even more impressive when I finally did recognize it. It was the angelic language, said to have been taught to the four Nephilim by the angel Amariel.  
I guess even the things they teach in public high-school can come in handy now and then.  
As impressive as that was however, what stood above it made it pale in comparison. Seemingly standing on top of the design were four massive figures, each reaching up to the stands.  
Standing in what I later learned were the four cardinal directions, each figure was “drawn” in the same line work as the lower art, with obvious care having been taken to depict them as respectfully as possible. Each figure was robed, their heads surrounded by a halo of angelic script, and each held a different item in their hand. One held a sword, another a flower, another a scepter, and the last... well a book, though given the context, the word “tome” probably worked better.  
“The Four Nephilim.” Heath muttered in slight awe next to me. Tearing my gaze from the figures, I glanced from him to Sophia, who appeared to be praying, her head bowed and hands clasped, her lips silently moving.  
Looking up, I could see there was also no roof, which made me hope that we didn't have to worry too much about storms passing through during whatever we might have to do here. Set against the wall near the entry tunnel were a set of racks holding weapons of all shapes and sizes and, judging by the sheer variety on display, all cultures as well. Large crates were stacked nearby, and some very beat up training equipment lay scattered randomly about, not just here but around the entirety of the stadium floor.  
“So. Whaddya think?” Heath asked, staring up at the architecture in mild awe.  
“Well... it's big.”  
“Indeed!” Sophia replied. She was looking at us. I guess huge buildings of death and bloodshed were less interesting to her than they were to us. “I must be honest, I do not know much about the use of this building. Though I do believe that there are some classes and school events held here.”  
I shook my head in disbelief. “What kind of class needs a gladiatorial arena for its curriculum? Advanced bludgeoning? Intro to smiting? Stabbing 101?”  
Sofia's response was preempted by a new voice. “You're close. It's for the Practical Applications of Magic and Battle Education classes. Though if I'm being completely honest, teaching 'Intro to Smiting' sounds like a lot of fun.”  
Is this how I'll meet everyone at this school? I silently pondered. They'll just surprise me from behind? If so, I was already getting used to it. Turning slowly, I looked to whoever had spoken. As with everything else at the school, I wasn't disappointed.  
The woman standing before me was, in all honesty, quite striking. She was just a little taller than Sophia, with light red hair cut short, falling just below her ears in little waves, auburn streaked throughout. She was dressed casually, wearing black shorts and cross trainers, and a cropped yellow tank top, revealing smooth, lightly tanned skin over some of the best abs I'd seen all day. A lanyard with an attachment, probably a name tag, hung around her neck.  
Oh, and she had the handle of a spiked warhammer as tall as she was resting across her shoulders, one hand holding it in place, the other on her hip. She grinned at us, her hazel eyes twinkling in the afternoon light.  
“So you three must be new students! I didn't expect to see you before class tomorrow, so I'm afraid the place is a little cluttered.” Without looking behind, she twisted her torso, hefting the spiked hammer and flinging it back towards the entry tunnel. It slammed into a crate some fifty feet back, sending shards of wood flying. She did this with one hand, and her muscles writhed under her skin throughout the entire, singular motion.  
I got the sense that she was used to people looking at her in utter shock, as she ignored our expressions and offered her now hammer-free hand. “Nice to meet you three. The name's Veda Vendula. I'll be the martial prowess and fitness teacher. I look forward to teaching you the ins and outs of beating people senseless.”  
What do you even say to an introduction like that? None of us could really think of anything. We just took it in turns to shake her hand, starting with me. Veda clutched my hand in a vice grip and smiled thoughtfully, giving my hand smaller squeezes with each shake. It was not a pleasant feeling. Not one to back down, I gripped back and smiled, looking her in the eye like a potential employer.   
“Leif Harmony.”  
“Nice to meet you Leif, looks like you get the job. I hope all that gaming you do hasn't left your body too neglected for class.”  
“Wha-” I started, but she had already moved to Sophia who gingerly offered her hand and, judging by the way she rubbed her wrist behind her back afterwards, was received with the same enthusiasm.   
“My- My name is S-Sophia Valencia.” She stuttered as our soon-to-be teacher shook her hand, arm and entire body.  
“Ah, a sister! It's an honor to have you attending my classes. Roman will be especially happy to have you on hand, in case any incidents arise during practices.” Veda then bowed deeply, withdrawing her hand to her waist. Sophia quickly bowed back, nearly concussing herself on the back of the woman's head.  
“No no! The honor is mine!” she replied in a hurriedly flustered voice.  
Veda straightened back up and smiled warmly, placing her hand on Sophia's shoulder in a placating gesture. “It'll be nice to have you here. Hopefully you won't have to work as hard here as you did there.”  
With that she moved on again, leaving Sophia to nurse her wrist with a confused look on her face. Veda stepped up to Heath, who offered his hand with an amicable smile. “Heya. Heath Randall, nice to meetcha!”  
Veda smiled back and took his hand in hers, which he squeezed. A surprised look appeared and faded from her face in a flash, and she grinned even wider.  
“An enchanter, eh? Well I suppose even those far from the front lines need to be able to protect themselves.”  
Heath didn't seem to notice the underlying tone to her speech and just shrugged with a small, nonchalant smile. “That's the idea. Though I hope the need doesn't arise. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for people to be beaten up by someone who just tinkers around all day?”  
Veda just barked out a laugh and let go of his hand, crossing her arms in front of her. “Well I doubt you have that much to worry about, all things considered. But remember, whether you can cast spells or enchant weapons, you're welcome to my class. Everyone has the right to learn self-defense!”  
She uncrossed her arms and gave us a thoughtful once over, as if just realizing we might have stood out a little.  
“So...” She started, looking a little lost since the first time we met her. “Any reason you three are here right now? Class doesn't start til tomorrow and I'd have to check my schedule...” she glanced away in thought. “...But I'm fairly sure that the last of the pre-semester tours were last week.” She looked back to us. “So?”  
We glanced at each other, not sure what to say. I guess the introduction of the super-powered gym teacher pushed our actual agenda from our minds. I pondered. Better respond before she makes us take laps.  
“Well your invisible schedule's probably right.” I began casually. “I just finished school registration today though, so I missed the whole... Orientation tour welcome...” I blew out my cheeks and waved my hand dismissively. “Thing.” I gestured to my companions. “My friends here offered to show me around, seeing as this place is massive and I've never actually been here before. So yeah.” I shrugged and put on a small smile. Why couldn't I could have at least seen the place once before Aria nepotism'd me into my new life? “That's why we're here. Well... that's why we're touring. And we’re here specifically because this place sounded cool.”  
Heath chuckled, resting his hands in his pockets. “Pretty much yeah. I mean, can ya blame us? It's not every day you get to show your new roommate the Colosseum!” Sohpia nodded reservedly, a similarly reserved smile on her face. Polite, as you’d expect.  
Veda grinned widely at us. “I see I see! Nice of you to be so welcoming to the less informed among us! I'm guessing this all must mean you're Aria's little brother!” And with those cheery words my heart dropped into my stomach with a splash, weighed to the bottom with my crushed hopes and dreams for a peaceful semester. I had to force myself not to slump down with the weight of my newly heavy heart. I only modestly succeeded.  
Thankfully, Veda didn't seem to notice any of this and kept talking. “I'd heard you applied to go here, and so I was wondering what you'd be like!” She laced her fingers behind her head and smiled at me. “How's she doing, by the by? When she told me that she was joining the Slayers regiment, I was a little worried. Not that I should have been of course! She was easily one of the best in her class! And I even hear tell she's been promoted to a second sphere Ophan with her very own squad!” Veda grinned excitedly, a gleam in her eye as she glanced up at the sky. “I'll need to have her spar with me the next time I see her. See if she's been slacking any now that she's gotten so famous!”  
Like it was wrapped with a bungee cord, my heart shot back up to its proper place at this news. “Wait, wait.” I said hastily, grabbing her attention back from wherever it had gone flying off to. “You know my sister? Like, personally know her?” This was a new sensation. Most people had only heard of my sister and her exploits, or at least only knew her in passing, like back home. But it sounded like Veda knew my sister well. Or at least well enough to have been in contact with her back when she'd joined the army right from college.  
“Oh sure.” She let her arms fall back down and looked upon me with a surprising degree of seriousness in her eyes. “She was my student when I first started teaching here. I taught her everything she knew about swordplay and hand to hand. Plus axe fighting, spears, archery, a little on scythes and knife fighting… All the basics really.” Veda ticked each point off on her fingers and shrugged. “She'd been so confident in herself when we first started, even though she had some of the sloppiest movements I'd ever seen.” She flashed a wicked grin. “Ah well. After a brief demonstration, she was willing to learn. And she picked it up pretty fast. She was a natural born fighter.” She smiled amicably at me. “I wonder if the talent runs in the family?”  
Welp, better nip this in the bud. I forced a chuckle and waved dismissively. “Yeah, no. I always figured my sister had the whole fighting thing under control, so I never bothered to learn.” I closed my eyes and shook my head with a shrug, hoping to sound more objective than I knew I was. “Besides, what would I learn, swordplay? I think Aria has that front covered, yeah?” Along with every other sharp, pointy thing in the world.  
Veda seemed to ponder this for a moment, but it was hard to tell, what with my currently closed eyes. I opened them back up to make sure I hadn't said something wrong. Turns out I hadn't. She was simply looking between the three of us with a thoughtful expression. A slight smile played across her lips as she uncrossed her arms, resting one on her hip again.  
“Well, I suppose we'll have to find out then, won't we? I'm sure our first class will be interesting for everybody. But for now, you to leave. I still need to clean up and prepare.” She motioned to the mess scattered around the arena floor before continuing. “And you guys might want to head back to the main campus. The cafeteria should start serving dinner soon, and you'll probably want to get there before it gets too crowded.”  
We nodded and turned to leave, giving our goodbyes as we walked back to the tunnel. I paused briefly to look over what remained of the crate that had the poor judgment to be placed in the way of our soon-to-be teacher's warhammer. The hammer in question was lodged in the ground at an angle, a third of the head hidden in the dirt. Walking past it and into the tunnel, I decided that maybe I would just do whatever Veda said from now on, lest she threw ME like that.

The walk back through the tunnel was quiet, and far slower than when Sofia had been dragging us along. We passed the time in silence, emerging squinting into the early-evening light. We stood there for a moment, looking down the inclined path that had lead us up here. Thinking back on it, it had been surprisingly sparse on vegetation. Unlike the rest of the campus, the only thing up this way had been grass and the occasional dandelion.  
I looked over to my travel companions. Sofia looked to the school expectantly, optimism shining in her eyes. Heath had palmed a pebble from the path and was absentmindedly fingering it as he stared down the path with a relaxed expression. He glanced back at the two of us and smiled. “So...”  
A low growl rolled through the air, cutting him off. He and I looked around in surprise before setting our eyes on Sofia, who was holding her stomach and looking down with a hard blush.  
“Uhm... You hungry there, Soph?” Heath asked in astonishment. “We could always head over to the food court if you want.”  
“Oh! Oh no, no I am fine!” Sofia shook her head and waved her hands in protest. “There is still so much to see! Please do not stop the tour on my account!”  
Well intentioned, but obviously false. Still, her sincerity was endearing, and I didn't want her to collapse on us. “It's cool you know.” I stated. “We can always pick this up again some oth-” Another loud growl interrupted us again, gurgling its way through the air.  
My turn to grasp my stomach in embarrassment. The other two stared at me in shock. When had I last eaten anyway? It must have been on the train. At the very least it was five or six hours ago.  
“Uh...Leif?”  
“Y-Yeah?”  
Heath grinned, crossing his arms. “Wanna grab some food? I think one of the food courts should be pretty close by. We just gotta head back to campus.”  
“Yeah, sure.” I looked to Sofia with an amused smile. “Think it's okay to take a short food break? The tour's been great, but I think sustenance is a little important, don't you?”  
Sofia blushed, nodding in agreement as another low growl rolled from her abdomen. “O-okay, yes please.”  
“Cool.” I grinned at them both. “Then lets g- ah crap.” I slumped forward.  
Heath looked confused. “Uh... what?”  
I waved him off. “Nothing. It's just...” Letting out a sigh, I straightened back up. “It's gonna take forever to walk all the way back. So much effort.”  
Heath just snorted and started walking down the path, motioning for us to follow. Sofia quickly did. “You choose now of all times to start being lazy? You just spent three hours walking the campus. Another ten minutes isn't gonna kill you.”  
I groaned to myself and followed. I'd been serious. “I'm always lazy. And all that was strictly necessary.” I jogged up to them and smiled wryly. “Besides, with such fabulous guides to show me around, how could I say no to a free tour?”  
They smiled back, and Heath threw his arms around both our shoulders. “Fair point. Well come on then, lazybutt. It's time to go get our chow on!”  
Dropping his arms from us, Heath grinned amicably and lead us down the path back to the school. And hopefully to food at least as good as the rest of the school would lead me to believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that ended up being longer than I'd planned. Hopefully I can fix that bad habit in the future. I hope it didn't drag too much for you.
> 
> The next couple chapters will be up soon. As always, your feedback is welcome.


	4. To Stuff, Divine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this out sooner, but I just moved house and I'm exhausted. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Oblate is a fun word.

“Well dang,” said Heath, slightly muffled by his mouthful of burger. “You guys can really pack it away.”  
He was of course, referring to the growing pile of dirty dishware haphazardly stacked between Sofia and myself. Sofia blushed, swallowing the last bite of the pasta salad she'd sat down with less than two minutes before. Grabbing the slice of pizza off my plate, I smirked at him. Cheese oozed between my fingers.  
“What can I say? Lack of food makes me hungry.” I bit in and found out heaven tastes a lot like deep dish.  
Heath chuckled and let a fry hang from his lips. “I still can't believe neither of you ate since this morning. And you still toured the place without a second thought! And you managed to make it all the way back too!” He grinned and pushed it in, licking his lips. “I was getting worried, with how loud you guys had been!”   
It had been a twenty-minute walk to get here from the Colosseum, and according to Sofia it had been the closest option. I was happy to have survived the monumental effort, if only just.  
Sofia continued her self-appointed job as tour guide with enthusiasm as we walked, probably to help distract us from our stomachs, which collectively seemed to decide that we weren't moving fast enough. They continued to growl and gurgle along the way, actively protesting our lack of on-hand sustenance. She seemed genuinely happy to keep explaining the nature of the school to me, and Heath seemed just as happy to add his own knowledge every now and then. To be honest, I'd barely listened. I was too hungry to learn. It was just as well though, because by the time we'd gotten close, they were too hungry to teach.  
As could be guessed, the building was big, though it was smaller than I'd have guessed, what with how big the rest of the campus had ended up being. Turns out the actual cafeteria only took up about a quarter of the building. The rest was kitchen and lounge-slash-study area. I’d made a mental note to check out the commons later, when my stomach wasn't going through an apparent mourning process. Exploring could wait, but food doesn’t stay ready forever.  
As crowded as it was, the overall process for obtaining nibbles was moderately quick. Eight to ten different grill areas stood at the center, each with its own menu and variety of edible options. Behind one counter, I watched a woman grill a set of burgers, flipping them with a flicked finger and a trickle of magic. A man blasted a stone countertop with fire, frying an assortment of meats and vegetables while another person shifted the stone itself, rotating the dishes out to meet the waiting patrons. It all seemed to work very efficiently. Marking a table as our own via sweatshirts, we split up, each on a personal quest for satiation. Not five minutes later, we were together once again, gazing upon our deliverance from the famine plaguing our lives.  
Heath had gone with a burger and fry combo, a classic nearly anywhere. He was obviously hungrier than he was letting on, as his burger was stacked with toppings, veggies and bacon and an assortment of sauces dripping over the edges and onto the plate. It even looked like he'd added an egg to the mix, though it was hard to tell, what with the muddling of condiments. The fries were piled high and golden brown, and he'd filled a cup with a fizzing soda of some kind.  
Sofia had opted for a less heavy meal, covering her plate in a vibrant salad. Crisp lettuce accompanied small tomatoes, green and yellow slices of peppers, small splinters of carrots and shreds of onion. Seemingly half a chicken was diced and spread throughout, whips of steam curling upwards. Shredded cheese covered the top, drizzled lightly with a clear, light brown dressing. A bowl sat on the side, filled to the brim with a dark, steaming soup. She’d also taken a tall glass of water.  
Personally, I'd just grabbed whatever caught my eye at random. My plate was piled with baked chicken with potatoes, steaming buns spread with butter, a pile of spaghetti with red sauce and a helping of a beef and veggie stir-fry, colorful and mouthwateringly aromatic. And despite the amount times Aria had teased me about it being childish in the past, I'd stood my ground against sibling shaming and filled my glass with chocolate milk, continuing my battle against the monopolization of delicious drinks by children.  
Conversation kind of dried up over the next ten or so minutes. Well, aside from small sounds of appreciation, and the occasional declaration of intent on getting more. But eventually we slowed enough to talk again, leading to Heath's aforementioned comments.  
“Hey, it's not my fault.” I paused to lick cheese and grease from my fingers. “I had a busy morning of boring train rides and pack mule-ing right before I got here. I didn't have time to eat anything.”  
“Pack mule?” Heath's brow rose. “Wanna explain that?”  
I shrugged. “My... travel companion shafted me with the luggage. I had to carry all the bags bags up the front steps myself.”  
“You mean the, what? Two steps in front of administration? It's a lotta bags, but that still doesn't sound all that bad.”  
“From the rail stop actually.”  
“Wait, seriously?” Heath started, and leaned in. “You carried all that up all those? I'm impressed! No offense, but how’d you manage? You don’t look like much of a lifter.”  
My muscles twinged at the memory. “Some taken. And the answer is ‘with great difficulty and a whole lot of breaks.’” No help from my dear sister of course. Unless you count status reports on how many steps were left left as actual help. I know I don't.   
“Makes sense, but that's not what I meant. I mean, how did you get stuck carrying all that yourself? I thought you came here with somebody. Your sister, right?”  
On my left, Sofia took a sip of water, listening attentively. I suppose she wanted to know about that too, since it was what she had ended up helping me with in the end.  
I heaved a mental sigh. I hated talking about my sister with people. She’d always been the prodigy, ever since we were little kids. She acquired her magic early. She was the first in her class to cast an actual spell. She was the youngest at our school to be scouted by Magi-specific colleges. Even before I’d started high school, she was being scouted by the Slayers Corps. And before I even reached senior year, she was the first person from home to reach the rank of Ophan. She was a big deal.  
Everyone wanted to talk about her. Everyone wanted to know if I was going to be like her. Going to be a Magi. A slayer. Going to be the person leaving their name in the annals of history and blah, blah, blah.  
But I never wanted that. In all honesty, it all sounded like too much effort. I didn't want to spend every day knowing that everyone was counting on me to protect them from the monsters that had once ravaged the entire world. I didn't want to spend my life trying to live up to the legacy of my sister, or the legacy of the slayers.  
So I didn't. I stayed out of it.  
Until I wasn't given the choice anymore. Until my family decided they knew what was best for me, and I was sent here, all at the behest of my amazing sister, who didn't know or didn't care about the true impact she'd had on my life.  
And the least she could have done was help me carry some of the Angel Damned bags! FUCK, she was infuriating!

“Uh... Leif? I think the fork surrenders buddy.”  
Snap. Back to the present. Not the time or the place to take a stroll down memory lane.  
And now that I was paying attention, I could see what Heath meant. I'd bent the fork so far back the tines were almost scratching the handle.  
My face grew hot, and I let out an embarrassed laugh.  
“Heh, sorry. I didn't have the best morning.” Or couple days. I cleared my throat and gently set the fork down. Not that it mattered how rough I was with it now. The poor thing would never serve again.  
“To answer your question, yeah. I was traveling with my sister, Aria. But she pointed out that it was only fair that I carried my own things, since it was all mine and everything.” So I did, along with all hers. From one train to the next and even to the trolley. I swear, I think she just enjoys watching me struggle.  
“I mean, I guess she had... some kind of a point, I'm sure.” Heath was treading cautiously. “But all that work?” He shook his head. “I'm surprised you didn't collapse.”  
I took a casual sip of milk. “Oh, I did.”  
“Huh?”  
“That's we met.” I nodded to Sophia, who smiled and nodded back. “She saw me and offered to help. I accepted, and she kind of got roped into helping me with everything. Sorry about that, by the by.”  
Sofia shook her head. “No no, it was really no trouble at all. I didn't think that you should have to carry all that yourself.” She smiled brightly at me. “But I think it was very nice of you to try to make sure your sister didn't have to carry any. I think it shows kindness to take on a burden for other people like that!”  
Whoosh. And like that, the point flew over her head. I decided not to press it. Heath apparently decided the same thing, putting an end to the last of his fries.  
Time for a change in subject. I didn't want to talk more about it all anyway.  
“So anyway,” I started, taking a swig of chocolate dairy goodness. “What about you two? You guys know all about me now, so it's only fair that I learn about you now, yeah?” Ah yes, a segue between topics as smooth as a gravel road. Behold friends: my great mastery over the conversational arts!  
“All about you, huh? Guess we have to tell you about ourselves now.” Affable sarcasm filled Heath's voice. “What do you want 'ta know, favorite food, color or season, which hand we prefer and if we squeeze the toothpaste from the top or the bottom?”  
Smartass. “Actually, was thinking back on what Super Phy-Ed Teacher said earlier.”  
“Super Phy-Ed?” Sophia sounded confused.  
“Veda.” Heath clarified.  
“Oh! I see now!”  
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, her. When she did her weird psychic hand shake thing, she mentioned that you were an enchanter.”  
“Yep.” Heath replied, cheerful and brief.  
“Ya wanna expound a little?” I asked with a dryly.  
Heath shrugged, taking a drink. “Not all that much to say, really. I grew up in a small town in Arizona, where the most interesting thing to happen was public high school. I'm an enchanter. I enchant things. I came here to learn more about enchanting.”  
“That is very impressive Heath!” Sofia leaned forward and grasped his hands in hers. “I am glad you made it in!”  
“Uh...what?” He looked at Sofia in confusion, then down to their hands.  
She smiled brightly and let go, sitting back in her seat. “It is a great achievement that you were accepted to come here! Many people who wish to do not get accepted. I believe it is because they lack the proper capabilities. So to be accepted means you must be very skilled indeed!”  
Heath didn't seem to know what to say.  
That piqued my interest. “Is the bar really set that high?” I asked, curiosity growing.  
Sofia turned to me. “I believe so, yes. From what I have read, Amaduran is one of the highest ranked colleges for magi in the country. I understand that the acceptance rate is considered low. Though because of that, many who graduate are given special consideration when seeking employment afterwards. Although I do believe many who attend also end up joining the military, due to their higher than average magical abilities.”  
Made sense to me. My sister's magic was perfect for slaughtering demons, and with how skilled she was, it was no wonder she ended up here. Though it did make me question how she managed to get me accepted. As far as I knew, there were no official documents of my prowess. Though that's mainly because I never actually kept up-to-date documentation after my data was given to the government when I was five. Wait, was that illegal?  
I nodded. “I kinda figured before, but you've definitely confirmed it. This place is basically a dream college. Prestige, high future potential and connections, yadda yadda yadda.” If you can make it here, the connections you gain ensure you’ll make it anywhere.  
“Yeah, you could look at it like that.” Heath replied, leaning back in his chair with a confident grin. “Or, you could see it as being the best possible place to learn about magic! Think about it.” He leaned forward and flicked a finger up as he spoke, probably hoping to look cool. “This is a place where the best of the best come from! And a lotta them also teach here! I'll bet you ten bucks Veda the super hero back there went to this school, and I'm pretty sure most of our professors will have gone here too!”  
I smiled. “I'll take that bet. She was impressive alright, but there's no way she went here.”  
Heath chuckled and leaned back again. “It's a bet then. Just make sure you're ready to lose gracefully.”  
I snorted disdainfully. “Yeah, right.” I looked to Sofia. “Want to get in on this?”  
She shook her head. “No thank you. I don't think it is polite to bet on our teacher without her knowledge.  
Well who was I to argue? “If you say so.”  
She gave an uncomfortable smile. “Plus, I do not think that Sister Jerusha would approve of my using my funds for gambling. It would be best not to.”  
Ah right, the other question Veda’s greeting had brought up.  
“Speaking of, I recall Veda calling you a sister earlier.”  
“Oh yes!” Sofia replied proudly, sitting a little straighter in her chair. “I was raised by The Sisterhood of Light! I have lived with them ever since I was only a small child!”  
“Really.”  
“Oh yes!” She gave a proud smile. “When I was very young, I was found to have potential for healing magic. My parents asked the sisterhood to teach me to become a healer, and so they took me in. I have been able to help many people. It is an amazing thing, to be able to offer comfort to those who need it, and to take away their sorrows and pains!” She was practically glowing with happiness, her words filled to the brim with unabashed pride in the work she had done. It explained a lot, really.  
Still, I had to know. “So why are you here then?” I asked. “It sounds like you were really happy in the Luminescent Abbey, and from what I've heard there's no shortage of patients there every day. So why leave it?”  
Sofia's smile melted away, and she sat quietly for a few seconds, a somber expression on her face. This was different. I had to resist leaning forward in anticipation.  
“I just… want to do more.” She fidgeted in her seat. “I just believe… no, I KNOW that I can do more. If we can save lives by going to the battlefield to stop people from ever needing to come to us in the first place, I know we can make a difference!”  
I rested my chin on my hand. “What if you get hurt though? It’s an admirable goal but losing you would mean losing all the people you could help.”  
Heath shushed me. I shushed him back. Sofia considered what I said.  
“I think it would be worth the risk.” She said, sitting up straight. “I think, if I can save lives, then it is my duty to try.”  
We looked at each other for a moment. She wasn’t lying, I could tell that much. She earnestly believed it was the right choice. And honestly, I didn’t think there was a good argument against it. I’d just wanted to know the “why” behind it all.  
I whistled. “That’s impressive.”  
“Yeah, you’re pretty awesome.” Heath said, giving her shoulder a playful shove. “Best healer I’ve ever met, hands down.”  
Surprisingly, she didn’t blush this time. Or at least not much. Her smile was dazzling though. “I- I do not believe that to be the case. Surely any healer would wish to help as many people as they can!”  
Ho boy. She would not like it when she found out the prices most professionals charged for healing spells. I was pretty sure the nurse at my high school was paid better than my principal, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.  
I just smiled and replied “You're probably right. I guess we were just caught up in the moment.” I gave Heath a pointed look. “Yeah?”  
He got the message. “Oh. Yeah, that sounds right.” He leaned back in his chair. “Still, it’s cool what you're doing Soph. Really. I'm proud to call you my friend.”  
Back to normal blush classic. Sofia smiled brightly at us. “Thank you! Both of you! I am happy to have you as friends as well!”  
She looked like she was ready to hug us again. I had the sneaking suspicion that my ribs might not survive this one, so a distraction was called for. Lucky for me, Heath was already on it.  
“Hey,” He started, waving his hand vaguely behind him. “Looks like its quieting down. Wanna grab some dessert before we head back to the dorms?”  
Oh, now he was speaking my language! I shot up from my chair. “Good plan let's go!!” I said hurriedly and took off toward the dessert section. I returned minutes later with a bowl of chocolate chip ice cream, smothered in chocolate sauce and topped in whipped cream, bringing a small plate of cookies alongside. I sat down and got busy cutting a banana into pieces with my spoon. Crumpling the cookies, I dropped them into the bowl with the fruit.  
Satisfied, I scooped out a spoonful, stopping just short of my mouth as I noticed Heath looking at me oddly. Sofia just took one look at my bowl and stood up, heading to the desserts.  
I shrugged and took the bite. It tasted amazing. I took another, trying not to moan. Heath kept staring.  
“What.”  
“Well...” Heath began, drawing the word out as Sofia returned to the table with her own copy of my dessert. He watched her slice her banana before answering.  
“You really like dessert, huh?”  
I shrugged, taking another delicious bite. “Probably no more than anybody else.” Another bite. “Why?”  
“Well…” he strung out the word. “I think that was the fastest I've seen you move all day.”  
“I wanted ice cream.”  
“So I see.”  
Sofia let out a small sound of joy as she took her first bite. She took another, closing her eyes in euphoria.  
“Pretty good, yeah?” I asked her with a small smile, resting my chin on my hand.  
She opened her eyes and I could swear they actually sparkled. “Yes yes! It is delicious! I've never had anything quite like this!”  
“What, nuns aren't allowed to eat ice cream?” Heath asked. I’d been wondering the same thing.  
“Maybe they think it’s a bad habit.” I replied around another spoonful. Heath squinted at me.  
Sofia shook her head, growing serious. “I have never eaten it like this, that is for certain. It was suggested we eat in such ways that would help us to build our physical and spiritual health. In addition, I was not a nun.” She took another bite, practically melting into her seat.  
Hang on a second.  
“I thought you said you were in the Sisterhood of Light.” I inquired, taking another bite. Heath nodded.  
Sofia somehow managed to tear herself away from her now slightly less than frozen treat. Regretfully pushing it to the side, she folded her hands in her lap. “I was, though I was not quite a sister myself. I believe that the closest term to what I am-” She shook her head. “The closest word for what I was would be an oblate.”  
“An oblate huh?” Heath said. “So you were like a part-time nun?”  
“That is not exactly it.” Sophia replied, glancing back at her ice cream.  
I swallowed. “I think it’s like being a member, but without taking a full vow.” I paused, thinking back to what I’d learned about them in school. “Though I thought most members of The Sisterhood were sworn in at a young age, around five or six?”  
She nodded. “Yes and no. We become affiliated with The Sisterhood when we are young, but the rules state you may only become a full Sister when you become of age and are able to make an informed decision as an adult. I believe it is a recent rule, so I do not think many of the Sisters followed it as children.”   
I nodded. “So what did you do, growing up?”   
Sophia smiled brightly. “I lived with my other oblates in housing paid for by The Sisterhood! They also supplied our schooling, and our basic training in both magic and medical practices. It was all very well put together, although we rarely had time to leave the grounds with such busy schedules.”  
Heath rested his chin in his arms. “So you pretty much spent all your time in the abbey, huh?”  
“Indeed. Except for the occasional trip to the nearby town for supplies, I rarely left.”  
I nodded. “Explains a lot. Like how you've never tried eating a sundae before.”  
Sofia nodded in agreement. “Well… yes. We were expected to eat... well. Not just for our own benefit, of course. We made sure to only eat the food we would serve to our patients, so as not to remind them of what they may have been missing during their treatment.”  
Geez, the Sisterhood was as dedicated to the cause as I'd heard. As heartening as it was to know there were people like that in the world, it seemed like a real shame that they were missing out on the magnificence that was ice cream.  
“So have you ever actually had ice cream before?” Heath seemed genuinely interested in this. I'd have been lying if I said I wasn't.  
“Oh no, I have had it once before!”  
“Care to enlighten us on the details?” He pushed her bowl back towards her. She accepted it graciously.  
“Oh, yes!” Sofia took another happy bite before continuing. “Sister Astrid bought me an ice cream cone when she accompanied me here. She did not eat one herself, but she believed that it was a nice day for a cool treat.”  
I grinned at her. “She was probably right. But I gotta say, I don't think there exists a day that's not good for ice cream.”  
Sofia nodded in vigorous agreement. Heath just rolled his eyes and got up from the table, returning a minute later with his own, albeit less full bowl. “I swear, you two have the makings of addicts.”  
“Please.” I replied around a mouthful of frozen happiness. “It's ice cream. It’s harmless.” I motioned to my nearly empty bowl, letting it speak for itself.  
Heath snorted in reply, taking a bite of his own dessert. He definitely got it. We finished the rest of our meal without talking all that much, and soon left the cafeteria, heading out into the cooling night air.  
While Sofia claimed that we didn't need to trouble ourselves, we insisted on walking her back to her dorm, making light conversation all the way. By the time we arrived, the sun had gone completely down, and the stars were out in abundance.  
She thanked us, and after trying one more time to strangle us with love, she went inside, promising to find us the next day to talk about how our classes had been. We agreed and left to trek back to our own dorm. Trek being the operative word, given the size of the campus.  
More than ten minutes passed, and we still weren't there. Though we had made it back to the courtyard.  
“Okay, explain something to me.” I started.  
“I only promise to try.” Heath replied, leading us past the fountain.  
“The number of Magi in the overall population is pretty low, yeah? And about one in every ten people being born with a natural talent, yeah?”  
“As far as I know, yeah.” He responded nonchalantly.  
“And an even smaller percent of that number have the talent and power to be accepted here, right?” We passed through the wall passageway and stepped out onto the path again.  
“That's what Sofia said at least.”  
“So the number of actual students here can't be all that huge, can it? Especially given the fact that there are plenty of other magi-specific colleges out there.”  
Heath paused in front of the door, frowning down at the door handle. I stood next to him and waited.  
Finally he looked back up to me. “I guess so, yeah. Statistically speaking, it would make sense that the number of students here is pretty low, at least compared to a normal college.” He held the door open, motioning for me to pass ahead. I obliged, walking to the elevator and hitting the call button. “Why do you ask?”  
“No big reason, I guess.” The elevator dinged, and we stepped in. “But... if that's the case...” I took a deep breath and threw him a frustrated look. “Then WHY does the campus need to be so freaking big?!”  
Heath’s gaze turned quizzically judgmental as the elevator stopped. “Seriously? Why does it matter?” He stepped out. I followed.  
“Because it took us fifteen minutes to walk from Sofia's dorm to ours.” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck as we walked down the hall. “Back home, I could have walked from the local college back to my house in less than that.” Well, I also could have made the trip a lot faster if I'd really wanted to. But that was neither here nor there.  
We unlocked our door and I plopped down onto the couch, pulling out my phone. No new messages, no missed calls. Guess whatever Aria had needed couldn't have been that important.  
“You must come from a smaller town then.” Heath dropped down onto the chair next to me. “That or you lived close to the school.”  
“The former. Well, the latter too, if I'm being honest. My town's not that big, really. Last I checked we were just over twenty thousand people.” I shrugged. “I got pretty much everywhere by walking. Or by bike if I didn't have the extra time.”  
Heath spread his hands. “So what's the big deal then? A little walk isn't gonna kill ya.”  
“Prove it.” I said seriously.  
He snorted again. “Okay, so I can't prove that you won't die of minor exertion on your way to class. Maybe a meteor will hit you or something.” He smirked. “Happy?”  
“Ecstatic.” I replied. “Good to see you finally get the perils of walking to class.”  
He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you said yourself that you're used to walking. So then what could be so bad about the distance between classes?”  
I stuffed my phone back into my pocket. “Well first of all, it seems like a waste of time. And I know I'll get lost without Sofia the super guide tomorrow.”  
Heath waved it off. “So I'll go with you. I get the gist of the layout, so I can probably help you find your classes. We'll just have to leave a little early.”  
I held out a hand in a “you see?” motion. “That would be the second problem. I'd rather be sleeping than getting up early to trek it to whatever coffee-buzzed scholar's class I have each morning.”  
Heath just shook his head. “You're a pretty lazy guy, huh?” Not a real question, he just seemed to be finally understanding me.  
I grinned shamelessly. “Guilty.”  
“What, did you think you'd only get afternoon classes or something dude? Most people know that they'll lose sleep when they sign up for college.”  
Oh yeah, I was totally ready when “I signed up.” I shrugged. “Well, a guy can dream, can't he?”  
Heath chuckled, rising back up off the couch and offering his hand. “Sure ya can, buddy. Though you might wanna get on that pretty soon. I'm betting you're not much of a morning person.”  
“You'd be surprised.” I muttered, but I took his hand and heaved myself off the couch anyway, walking back to my room to return moments later with my toothbrush and other bathroom essentials. I took them to their necessary room, returning a minute later with a foaming mouth.  
“So,” I said, speaking around the minty awfulness of my toothpaste. “You think class'll be boring? I tend to hear that about college.” Or just school in general, though my experience at the time was limited.  
“I guess it'll depend on the classes you have.” Heath replied, stripping his clothes off and heading to the bathroom. At least he left his underwear on. I left it to him, rinsed my mouth out in the kitchen sink and went back to the mess that was my room.  
I'll have to take care of this tomorrow. I pondered, opting to click off the lights and hop over it and onto the bed.  
Guess it could have been a worse day, all things considered. I thought, closing my eyes and waiting to fall asleep.  
It ended up being a good thing that I got so much sleep that night. As it turned out, I was going to need it the next day.


	5. Darkness and Discourse

Aria sighed and stretched as she finally got out of the car. There wasn’t too great a distance between here and the bar, but city traffic was annoying as always, and somehow not even magic could get the infinitely continuous city road construction done. Add the annoying driver and you had a recipe for the most unnecessary headache.  
Apparently the demon had killed the street lamps along with innocent people when it attacked, because the path leading up to the base was darker than it needed to be, which was any degree at all. Not that it bothered her. She couldn't call herself much of a Slayer if she was afraid of the dark, she’d be laughed out of the military. With a snap of her fingers and a miniscule magical effort, an orb of pure light the size of her fist materialized in front of her, bathing the path ahead in warm iridescence.  
“Cake walk.” She murmured, happy to still find use for the spell from her childhood. “Ah, the memories.”

As a kid, Aria had never truly been afraid of the dark. She was a magus of light, after all. What did she have to fear from a little lack of the sun? Though before she'd gained her power, she'd at least been cautious of it. After all, night was a time when everyone was asleep, and dark shrouded the world from her sight. So she knew to at least be careful in it. It had taken her three stubbed toes before she learned to walk carefully.  
The very first time she'd ever used her magic had been to illuminate her brother's room at night, when she was only five. She'd sneaked her way in, careful not to wake her parents, who were sleeping heavily in the room next door. She hadn't meant to, but the room was so dark that she couldn't see anything.  
Peering through the doorway of her brother's nursery room, Aria only wished she could see where she was going. And with a soft whooshing noise and a rush that she now knew was the feeling of her magic power being released, a tiny orb flashed into being.  
She’d squeaked in surprise and nearly fallen over, but somehow she managed to catch herself on the door frame. Panting slightly, she peered quizzically at the small, golden sphere floating just in front of her face, shedding a pale, gentle light over the area around her.  
She didn't know what it was. She didn't know it was there because of her, or just how much it would change things for her. But what she did know was that it made it much easier to see where she was going, so it must be a good thing! Young Aria carefully walked her way over to her brother's cradle, the little ball of light floating alongside her. She stepped carefully on the stool her parents had left there for her, and peered over the edge at her baby brother.  
He lay there, loosely swathed in blankets, clutching onto a teddy bear nearly as big as himself. Little Aria smiled. She'd been so mad when her dad had asked her to give up one of her stuffed animals for Leif. She'd even insisted that he should get his own and demanded to know why she should have to give up any of her things to appease the little screaming brat that had infested her home with smells and sounds, taking up all the attention she was so used to getting herself. But now that she saw him, finally sleeping peacefully for the first time in a week, she decided that it was okay.  
And looking at him like this, she didn't think he was so bad. Sure, he looked a little like a frog, and he was drooling everywhere, but he was kind of cute, in his own way. “I guess you can keep it. For a little bit.” She whispered to him. He turned a little, but otherwise stayed sleeping.  
Giggling, Aria quietly made her way back to her own room. It was much easier with the light she'd found. Crawling back into her bed, she stared ponderously at the ball of light. Would it still be there when she woke up? Would her mother let her keep it? She didn't know, but now that she was under the covers she was too drowsy to care. She quickly fell sleep, soothed by the reassuring, dim glow of her new night light.

Aria shook her head, shooing the memory away as she walked up the path to the Compound. The now lit path was surprisingly clear of any damage. A quick survey of the area revealed no signs of the carnage from the night before. “Strange,” She murmured. “Even Minor Lords enjoy collateral. No demon’s this controlled.”  
“I did tell you it appeared inside. We had several Cherubim and Ishim scout around the base after the attack, but as you see, there's no damage.”  
It was hard to fight the urge to strike Easton. “Don't sneak around.” She crossed her arms and let out a small huff of breath. “So this is why they believe it just materialized out of thin air inside.”  
Easton nodded, brushing off his uniform with his hand. “It’s one of the reasons. We don't have any idea as to exactly how, but with this and the fact nobody could sense it before it struck, command cobbled together the theory. But the method’s still unknown. We had several sensitives run a scan over the place, but they haven’t found anything. No hellmouth, no transportation magic.” He adjusted his glasses before continuing. “Anyway, this is one of the reasons our superiors decided to call us all together for this little meeting here. And I’d never be so rude as to sneak up on a lady. I’ve never needed to, you know”  
Aria had to wonder where he found so much unwarranted confidence.  
“I’d rather you weren’t near me at all, sneakily or no.”  
“You’re so harsh, but methinks the lady doth protest too much.” He simpered. “But I know you’ll fall for me, one day.”  
“I could kill him right now, no jury would convict me.” “Word of advice for you Harris.” Aria turned and walked up the path to the base. “Any protest is enough when dealing with you.”  
Ignoring whatever flirty banter he had for a reply, Aria continued on to the front door of the building, stopping only when the sentry held up a hand.  
“Identification please.” She asked in a calm, authoritative tone.  
“This is new.” Aria noted, handing her authorization to the woman. “Normally comes further in.”  
“Yes, it does.” The guard replied, looking over her ID. Her eyes unfocused as she looked over the enchantments placed on the card. “It's a new security measure.” She handed Aria her pass back, wiping the water from her eyes. “Sorry for the wait, Ophan Aria. Please go in.”  
Aria doubted a single extra guard would do anything more to dissuade demons from attacking than the building behind her, but she nodded in thanks and strolled in, happy that it would at least give her a few moments without Captain Pick-up line.  
As she walked down the brightly lit hall, Aria pondered on the nature of the meeting. Easton had mentioned that several Ophanim would be gathered to discuss the incident, but he hadn't had much time to clarify, nor she the time to seek more information. Once she'd gotten over the shock that he'd be glued to her hip for however long it took for everything to be sorted out, she'd had her own affairs to work through.  
Her first act had been to call for the members of her squadron to head to Sudhir base as fast as humanly possible. Or in their case, as fast as magically possible. She had no doubt that several members would be able to make it in time for the meeting, but given that they had been on leave, just like she had been, most would probably need another day or two to make it in time. That was just as well. Even having one or two of them would make her job much easier.  
“Reporting for duty Captain!” Well. Speak of the devil.  
Aria smiled and walked forward to grasp the speaker in a hug. “Zev! It's good to see you again! I hope your leave was nice, as short as it was.”  
“We were off for two weeks Captain. You can hardly call that short. And please, remember protocol. You’re my boss, not my friend.” Zev spoke in his usual stoic manner, but the tail thumping against her side told her enough.  
“Right, right. Sorry.” Aria pulled back from the hug and smiled warmly at her subordinate.  
As usual, he was wearing his camouflage and combat boots, despite the lack of any reason to do so. Nobody else on her team ever did, as it wasn’t part of their official uniform. She was actually a little impressed by this. She doubted he'd had much time to change after getting here from his home. Though with his speed, she probably shouldn't have been surprised.  
Aside from the uniform, she noticed he'd also gotten a haircut since she'd last seen him. His normally shaggy gray hair was trimmed shorter, now drawing more attention to the two fuzzy ears jutting from his head. They too, were gray.  
He frowned at her, his yellow eyes flashing in the florescent lighting. “I tell you this every time we meet. Why don't you ever remember to act like a leader should?”  
“Because you're warm, and it feels nice to hug you!” She replied cheerfully. “Besides, you may act cool, but you can’t hide what you feel inside!”  
Zev frowned uncomprehendingly at her, then started, only just noticing his tail moving joyously side to side. “Gah! Curse you, you fluffy traitor!” He growled, spinning around to grasp it in his clawed hands. Aria stifled a giggle, trying not to embarrass him. She loved Zev’s little habits.  
“Sheesh, we haven't seen you in two weeks and the first thing you do is chase your tail. Guess you're still more of a puppy than a soldier!”  
“Tyson.” Zev growled at the approaching man, letting go of his tail. “I hope your travels were safe.”  
“Of course they were. It's not like anybody wants to trouble the guy throwing fireballs, is it?”  
Aria turned to look at her subordinate. “Tyson, good to see you again. How was your vacation?”  
The red-haired man grinned and inclined his head, amusement twinkling in his green eyes. “Not bad. Though I was a little bummed it had to end so soon. I could have sworn I was promised a month off.”  
Aria rolled her eyes. Tyson Elliot may have been one of the most sarcastic people she knew, right up there with her brother. Luckily for him, he was also the only fire user in her team, and a good one at that. So she could put up with a little sass now and then.  
Zev however, could not.  
“Don't talk like that, you insubordinate ember! You know very well that our captain would only call us back early for an emergency like this one. And even if there was none, it's our duty as Cherubim serving under her to answer every call to arms!” The wolf-man looked furious, his bared teeth pale and sharp.  
Tyson's smile faded into a scowl as he glared at his fellow slayer. “It was a joke dog breath! Do all halflings have no sense of humor, or are you just an especially stupid case?”  
“You racist, insufferable little-!”  
“Enough!” Aria yelled, clapping her hands once for punctuation, a flash of light erupting from them. “You both need to calm down before I make you!” Both men froze, their eyes darting around, doubtlessly on the watch for anything sharp and floating.  
Aria smiled inwardly, proud of them for recognizing the potential danger. She’d never be any danger to them, but they didn't need to know that.  
“Zev!” She pointed to him, and his eyes widened. “You need to think before you insult one of your teammates. I appreciate your support, but you need to tone it down. We fight demons, not each other.”  
He nodded, his ears drooping slightly. Aria had to force herself not to pet his head. It was neither appropriate or respectful, no matter how much she wanted to.  
“And you!” She shifted her gaze and pointed to Tyson, who put his hands up in a placating gesture. “You need to apologize for the halfling comment. The current situation weighs on us all, but it does not excuse slurs! Now apologize to Zev this instant!”  
Tyson put down his hands and took a deep breath, turning back to face his squad-mate. “I'm sorry. That was crossing the line.”  
Zev nodded curtly. “I apologize for provoking you.”  
“Good.” Aria said, nodding decisively. “Now we can move on.” She looked to Zev again. “Did anyone else make it here? I've been too busy to check back in.”  
The canid cambion reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad, flipping through several pages before answering.  
“I had assumed you'd be preoccupied, so I took it upon myself to organize the information you might need.” He lifted another page, then set it back before continuing. “Lugh was tied up in volunteer work, so he'll be joining us as soon as that's completed.”  
“Makes sense.” Aria said. “I'm not sure what else I'd expect him to do, to be honest.”  
“He could get a hobby.” Tyson supplied. “You'd think he got enough of helping people during his work.”  
Aria rolled her eyes again. Tyson had brought this up with Lugh before. It was an argument they never seemed to stop having. “It’s not a crime to volunteer, Tyson. It’s just how Lugh is, learn to let it go.”  
Zev cleared his throat. “Indeed. I also called Jazzbia, and at the time, she was in Colorado with her family for a hiking trip. She claimed she would be back as soon as possible, but she couldn't promise it would be before Friday.”  
“Fair enough.” Aria shrugged. She couldn't expect everyone to be ready to return at the drop of a hat. Having two of her team members with her was already more than she'd hoped for. She motioned again for him to continue.  
“Hiking? I thought the point of a vacation was to rest, not get altitude sickness.” Tyson said, leaning against the wall.”  
“Hush.” Aria replied.  
“And finally,” Zev concluded. “I'm sorry to say that I couldn't get in touch with Arlo. I've left several messages, but he's yet to return a single call. We'll probably have to do without him until he decides to check his phone again.” He made no effort to hide his irritation.  
Aria frowned, but decided to let it go. “Well it’s not unexpected, but I’ll still have to have a talk with him about this. I swear if I didn't know he had a job, I'd think he was just homeless, instead of whatever he actually is.”  
“Homeless man with a job murdering monsters?” Tyson supplied.  
Aria sighed, but she couldn't argue with that analysis. Arlo was an odd one, to say the very least “That's probably close. Anyway, if we're all that's here, we should get to the meeting. I don't want to keep the other captains waiting.”

The meeting room was plain, holding only a rectangular table and chairs necessary for the Ophanim that would be sitting at it. At either end of the table was a pot of coffee and a small box of donuts that some saintly soul had supplied for the meeting, along with a pitcher of water. Aria snatched a pastry and poured herself a cup of water, then took her seat. Zev and Tyson stood to either side. Taking a bite, Aria surveyed the room, taking note of its occupants.  
Easton had already arrived, and was drinking from a paper cup of coffee. Crumbs littered the tabletop before him, but as always, his uniform was spotless. He winked at her, otherwise staying mercifully quiet.  
To his left sat Esti Arman. Well, “sat” may have been the wrong word. The woman was slumped over, her cheek pressed against the tabletop and her long brown hair spread around her. She was snoring softly, a thin line of drool pooling next to her mouth. And to top it all off, underneath the white hooded cloak that was both the uniform and the very symbol of the slayer’s corps, she wore a pajama onesie. A very cute, teddy bear onesie. An embarrassed looking man stood next to her, staring down at the table.  
“Um...” Aria started, trying to comprehend what she was looking at.  
“Leave her.” Came a gruff, slightly muffled voice. “The slouch will wake up when the meeting starts. She can be trusted on that, at least.”  
“I guess I'll trust you on that, Captain Praxiteles.” Aria said, bowing slightly to the person sitting alone at the end of the table. “So how've you been? Did you like the amazon?”  
When Aria had first met them some years back, she considered Hunter Praxiteles coolest looking people she had ever laid eyes on. And even now, that was still the case, due to their peculiar dress style. Of course, it was hard to tell what they actually looked like, considering the cloth mask and weathered hood that covered their face, with the exception of their piercing blue eyes.  
They wore a belted, dark leather tunic with a single strap reaching from shoulder to waist, which itself held a multitude of small throwing daggers. They sat with their gloved hands folded, leaning forward with elbows on the table. A young man in simple, black clothing stood behind them, holding a long, dark gray leather coat that Aria recognized as belonging to Hunter.  
“Successful.” They replied, voice slightly muffled by the mask that Aria had never seen them without. “We found and killed the beast in a matter of hours.” They let out a snort, clearly audible despite the obstruction. “You could hardly call it a proper quarry. The trail it left was unmistakable. A child could have lead us to it.”  
Aria had her doubts, but she kept them to herself. “I'm glad it went well then. It must have been nice to be done so quickly. The free time must be nice.”  
Hunter glared at her. Or maybe they were just looking at her normally. It was hard to tell.  
“I'd rather I was back in the field. Sadly, the current predicament has me tied down, for the time being.” They shifted their gaze to Zev, peering at him intently. He froze, the donut in his hand forgotten. “I don't like being trapped here. As my master would say, 'A hunter must hunt.'”  
Aria could feel the shudder that ran through Zev's body, ending at the bristling tail he quickly hid behind him. She didn't know what to say, and luckily she didn't have to, as another person entered the room. Although “entered” wasn't exactly the word for it. The closer phrase would have been “made an entrance.”  
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the room as a flash of white light bloomed from the doorway, outlining a figure darkened by the light pouring from behind.  
“Hello darlings!” came a velvety, deeply smooth voice, as upbeat synth music began to play.  
From her right side, Aria could hear Tyson groan.  
“Oh no.” He moaned, just loud enough to be heard by the two next to him. “Not him!”  
“Yup.” Aria replied, wishing she could laugh at her subordinate's forlorn irritation. “Him.”  
Zayn Luceat strolled into the room as if he were on a fashion runway, hips swaying side to side. His neon-pink high heeled boots clicking against the floor in rhythm with the music as small fountains of sparks burst from the ground around him, highlighting his path. He continued sashaying towards the group, halting only to strike a pose, one foot against the edge of the table. Zayne flipped the bangs of his dark, chin length hair from his face, smirking at the entire room at once.  
“Good evening, my beauties!” He trilled. “I do hope you find yourselves well in this ugly time of grief and loss.”  
The man certainly knew how to make an entrance. Even Esti woke up to see, peeling her sleep mask from one eye to peek at him before dropping her hand and falling back to sleep.  
The other two had similarly downplayed reactions, Hunter merely nodding towards the sparkling man. Easton raised his coffee cup and smiled at Zayn, who sighed and waved his hand at the door, silencing the music and extinguishing the light and sparklers. A woman in a colorful dress and a plethora of jewelry walked through the door, carrying a small, now silent speaker in one hand, her phone in the other.  
“I swear!” He exclaimed. “You three are some of the least animated people I have ever had the pleasure of working with! No flash, no dazzle! Must I be the only one to bring some glamour to this dim, dismal little base?”  
Easton chuckled at that, and set down his cup. “I'm sorry Zayn, it's just been a long day. We're just a little tired.”  
“And it's not like anybody can actually stand you.” Tyson grumbled to himself.  
“Far fewer people can stand you.” Zev quietly retorted.  
“What was that, dog breath?”  
“Exactly what you heard, wick-head!”  
“Hush you two!” Aria whispered, covertly elbowed them both and praying to The Angel that Zayn hadn't heard them. Luckily, he appeared not to. In fact, he appeared to only just notice Aria sitting at the table.  
His face split into a grin, his one revealed eye sparkling. “Aria! It's so good to see you! It's been far too long!” Leaping onto the table top, he delicately worked his way down it, careful to avoid both the food and the sleeping Ophan's head. Carefully sitting on the edge, he crossed his legs and motioned for her to give him a hug.  
Aria gladly accepted, standing to embrace him without hitting his knees. He drew her into a strong grasp that lasted only a few seconds, before letting go and holding her at arm’s length.  
“My dear, you look as radiant as ever! I do so wish you would let me put you on the runway! Just imagine it! Standing up there next to me, cameras flashing as you pose and pout! You could shine brighter than anyone there! Myself excluded, of course!” He beamed at her, practically glowing with excitement.  
Aria felt bad. “I'm sorry Zayn, but I just don't think the stage is for me. Too scary.”  
“Oh, poo!” He replied, waving her off. “You fight demons on a daily basis! What could you have to fear from a simple room of people?”  
“Well for one thing, demons only try to kill you. The people will be there to judge me.”  
Zayn sighed and released her shoulders. “Fair enough, darling. But one day I know you'll say yes! You have too much beauty not to share it with the rest of the world!” He absentmindedly picked at his black tights with one hand, pointing to her with the other. “You know it is the duty of the beautiful to help make the world a shinier, more glamorous place!”  
“Why don't you ask your Cherubim to model for you?” Easton asked, pouring himself another cup of coffee. “They're all fairly pretty people, from what I've seen.” He paused to think, then shrugged. “Well, most of them anyway.”  
Zayn spun around in place to lie on his stomach, his legs flying over Aria's head as he did so and forcing Zev and Tyson to duck back. His wore a pinched smile as he shoved his finger into Easton's face, just avoiding poking the bridge of his nose.  
“I do hope you're not implying that any one of my babies does not belong on the runway, Harris! They all deserve to be seen and appreciated!”  
“Of course I don't mean that!” Easton placated, going cross-eyed as he tried to stare at the manicured finger right between his eyes. “I only meant that some of them might be a little... unconventional on the walkway! People can be very judgmental you know, especially in such a competitive field!”  
Zayn sniffed, staring his fellow captain down. “I don't much care for your analysis of my cuties, Harris! Nor do I like the implication that they could not do well in the fashion world! My little lovelies are all very successful, which you would know if you bothered to read a magazine that included more than underpaid, scantily clad women!”  
Now it was Harris' turn to get angry. His placating smile turned into a fierce growl as he stood, towering over his accusing coworker. Static crackled, and the room filled with the scent of ozone. Esti stirred in her slumber.  
“I don't like your accusations, pretty boy. You may want to take them back.”  
Zayn rose from his stomach to his knees and glared right back, an enraged smile on his lips. “Sweet names won't help you now, you perverse boxer! Maybe I should teach you a little respect!” Multi-colored sparks danced across his hands, and the scent of flowers and gunpowder joined the ozone.  
“Okay you two need to calm down.” Aria began to stand, intent on breaking them apart. She needn’t have bothered though, as the slam that echoed throughout the room did the job just fine.  
A web of cracks covered the table around Hunter’s fist. The three peered cautiously at the leather clad Ophan, never before experiencing anything like a temper from them.  
“Enough!” Hunter intoned. “You are Ophanim, not children! And yet you act so disgracefully, fighting among yourselves at a meeting meant to plan for a future burdened by the loss of two of our comrades!” Hunter gaze was intense. “You bring shame upon your titles! Had the Major seen this, he would have lost any respect for us when he came to the briefing. Now show some dignity and act befitting the station you hold!”  
Both Ophanim broke apart, Easton sitting back down and Zayn scooting back over the table to take a seat next to Aria. Aria was impressed. So this is how you command respect. Note, taken.  
The once agitated slayers now looked downright dejected, even embarrassed. Aria could sympathize with them. She wouldn't have wanted to be scolded by Hunter either.  
“Hey guys.” She started. “I know you're feeling on edge. These last couple days have been hard on all of us. The loss of Maes and Dubois is weighing on all of us. But we should really try not to let that get to us, okay?”  
They looked tiredly at her, but it was clear they appreciated the comforting.  
Hunter however, did not.  
“Aria.” They said, causing her to jump.  
“Um.. yes? How can I help you hunter?”  
The senior slayer tilted their head. “Don't think you're free of blame either. With as close as you were, you should have been the one to stop them, not I. The ability to take control of such situations is needed in work as both a slayer and a hunter. You must learn this.”  
“Where do they get off-” Tyson began, before being shushed by Zev. Tyson stared back angrily.  
Aria ignored her men and nodded, meeting Hunter’s gaze. “I understand that Hunter. I'll do better next time.”  
They nodded, and leaned back in their chair again, folding their arms. “See that you do.”  
“Now hold on just a second here!” Zayn cried, shooting up in his chair and turning to face the stoic Ophan. “It's unfair to hold Aria here responsible for our little spat! And you can't possibly expect her to be able to diffuse an argument between two people more than her equal in rank and power so easily! She's barely had time to grow accustomed to commanding people under her, let alone those who outrank her like we do! This isn't the same as hunting down a beast, this is a different issue entirely!”  
“Babying her,” Hunter replied, staring Zayn down. “Will get her nowhere. She was given her rank as a show of faith in her ability, despite her age and inexperience with command. She is expected to fulfill the same duties expected of us. And such things are not so different from The Hunt. All members are expected to do their part, no matter their age, or their experience. Are you suggesting she does not deserve her rank?”  
“I would never!” Zayn exclaimed, placing a hand over his chest. “How dare you even-”  
“Then I don't want to hear excuses for her lack of action.” Hunter interrupted in a calm voice. “She is one of us, an equal in this room. Therefore, she shall be treated as such.”  
Pride gushed up throughout Aria's body. Hunter Praxiteles had called her their equal, and was treating her with respect. She may have been scolded, but it wasn't without its merits.  
“Well I...- but you...- and she-...” Zayn blustered for a moment, finally stopping to breath and collect himself. “Well. I see your point. Still, as always, you bring it about so drably. Maybe a change in wardrobe would help to liven you back up! At least it would get you out of that dreary outfit. Don’t you ever wear anything else, darling?”  
Hunter scoffed. “I wear this for good reason. It serves its purpose well, which is more than can be said for what you have on.”  
Zayn looked down at himself, then back up in shock. “I'm offended you would even think such a thing! My outfit is compiled from one of my most recent and successful lines! Behold!” He posed, setting his foot on the table again. “These boots are made to give lift with none of the loss of balance normally attributed to a heel.” He gestured to them, then ran his hand along his thigh.  
“These leggings are designed to promote warmth and comfort, all while showing off the graceful curves of the wearer's legs!” He brought his hands to his chest, flourishing the see through pink shawl atop the skin tight halter top, both of which stopped just below his rib cage. The sleeves were attached to his middle fingers by bright pink rings.  
“And the coup de grace! A beauteous combo that draws the eye to the chest with wispy cover and a tightened focus. Combined, they allow one to display both a love of comfort and a boundless self-confidence!” He struck one last pose, snapping his fingers and firing off colorful streams of sparks.  
Tyson made a quiet gagging noise, followed by a grunt, presumably brought about by Zev.  
It didn’t seem likely, but Aria got the strong impression that Hunter was rolling their eyes. She could see why, Zayn tended to be a little over the top in a few ways. She enjoyed it, though. She thought it made him fun.  
“Regardless of whatever perceived function you claim, it won't change the fact that nothing you're wearing offers the slightest bit of protection or practical use in the field. I believe I'd be better off wearing what I am now.”  
To Aria, Hunter's tone made it very clear that the discussion was over. It was probably clear to Zayn too, who proceeded to drop back into his chair with a huff of breath.  
“Fine then darling.” He replied sullenly. “But don't say I didn't offer.” He then turned back to Aria, a dazzling smile back in place. “So, any idea when this little meeting is scheduled to start?” He asked, propping his chin on his hand. “I go through the trouble of showing up fashionably late, and it hasn't even started yet! I would have assumed better of our friends in the military.”  
Aria shook her head. “I honestly have no idea.” She nodded to Easton. “The letter he gave me only said to arrive here at this time. Maybe they were waiting for us all to arrive?”  
“That would be correct.” Came a reply, drawing the attention of the room.  
Standing in the doorway was a man older than any of them. He wore a crisply ironed, deep blue uniform, its chest and lapels covered in a multitude of colorful medals, stripes on his cuffs and shoulders revealing his high rank. His hair was cut short under his dark cap, and on his face lay a proudly bushy mustache, completely white in color.  
He marched into the room, a younger, similarly dressed man following him, and stood in front of the table with a straight back, a briefing folder held in one hand, his stern, steely eyes scanning over the members of the room, disapproval clear as his gaze settled on each in turn. This excluded Easton.  
“I apologize for the time it took to arrive,” He began, his voice as strong as his gaze. “However, your tendency towards being unorganized is well known, and we have no time to waste on such things. So if you're all prepared to pay attention-” He stared at Esti, who woke with a small snort as her associate shook her. She shot up, pushing her eye mask up and gazing intently to the uniformed man.  
“-I will start this briefing.” He finished, irritation thick in his voice.   
“Sounds good, sounds good.” Esti replied in a drowsy voice. “Ooh, coffee!”  
Aria suddenly felt great sympathy for the young man the dozy captain had brought with her. She'd heard stories about Esti Arman, and had even spoken with her on several occasions, but she could never have been prepared for how little the woman seemed to care about the atmosphere around her.  
And Esti clearly didn't care. She simply poured herself a cup and took a sip, yawning widely before grabbing a doughnut from the plate near her and taking a bite. “So,” she said around a mouthful of pastry. “Who are you again?”  
“Colonel Nelson Algernon.” The man replied, barely contained anger filling his voice.  
“Oh, cool. Go ahead then, I'm ready now.” She waved her doughnut in a general “get on with it” gesture.  
Aria wanted to kill her.  
To his credit, the colonel showed significant self-control, staring at her for a moment, then breathing deeply and collecting himself.  
“As you should have been told,” he started in a cool voice. “At approximately oh-two hundred hours this morning, this base fell under attack from an outside force.” He pulled a file from the folder, handing the rest to the soldier next to him. “Two demons with a classification of “Minor Lord” appeared inside the facility, attacking and killing thirty-four ranked magi. These numbers include seventeen Ishim, fifteen Cherubim and two Ophanim. The names of the dead are listed on these.”  
The uniformed young man hurridly distributed sheets to each Ophan, a somber expression on his face.  
Aria's own face fell as she looked down the list. While there were many names she didn't recognize, there were still many she did, if only in passing. David Endover. Mary Lovais. Franklin Demanden. Reading the names made her heart ache.  
“Two demons.” Hunter's voice cut through the sorrow, bringing her back to the room.  
“What?” Colonel Algernon asked, pausing mid stache-stroke.  
“You said there were two demons that caused this. But earlier today, it was announced that there had been only one.”  
The Colonel nodded, stroking his mustache one last time. “Yes, there was. We found the corpse of the second demon late this afternoon. Intel suggests it was mortally wounded by Ophan Maes, but somehow managed to escape his presence. It-”  
“Nah, that makes no sense.” Esti interrupted around a mouthful of her second pastry. “There's no way that thing could have survived Maes.”  
“It obviously could.” The Colonel replied with irritation. “Because it made it out of his room before-”  
“Honestly dear, I'd have to agree with Esti.” Zayn replied in a bored tone, spinning a quietly whistling green orb on the tip of his finger. “If Maes was in any shape to attack it back, it wouldn't have been able to get out of that room on its own. He was far too good for that.”  
“He-”  
Hunter held up a hand, motioning for the Colonel to stop talking. He begrudgingly did.  
“Maes was well known for the speed and intensity of his fire magic, and he was as well trained as the rest of us in sensing demonic energy. Considering these facts, escape seems unlikely, but we don't yet have every fact. Where was the creature found?”  
Colonel Algernon rubbed his eyes and sighed, looking through the reports before answering. “It was found outside the building, under a hole in the wall of his room. Investigators found no scorch marks around the hole and concluded it must have broken through before succumbing to its wounds.”  
No, that doesn't make sense. Aria raised her hand “Did you perform an autopsy on the bodies? All of them, not just the slayers. Did you look at the demons too?”  
“Of course we did.” The Colonel sighed. He clearly wasn't enjoying himself. “We've looked over every dead body we found. The autopsies are still underway. It's all being put together for an official report as we speak. But it was decided that you five should know as soon as possible, hence this meeting.”  
“Do you have a list of all the damages? A list of all the wounds to everybody?”  
“Not yet. As I've said, investigations are still-”  
“Please, give them to us as soon as they're completed.” Aria interrupted, leaning forward intently.  
The Colonal just nodded, finally giving up. “Fine, yes. But with that out of the way, we have one last announcement. If you're all done interrupting.” He glared around the room, and seemed to take the silence as consent.  
He nodded, satisfied. “Very good. Moving on then.” He held his hand out, and the young soldier handed him another sheet. “As of now, none of you are to be alone at any time. You understand why, I'm sure.” They nodded. “You will receive instructions on pairing up at oh-nine hundred hours. Do whatever it is you do until then.”  
And with that, the Colonel took his leave, his assistant quickly following after, leaving the five Ophanim to sit in silence.  
“Welp, Imma go to bed.” Esti announced, standing up and stretching. Moving her eye mask from her forehead to her neck, she grabbed her subordinate and left the room. “Later taters!” Aria wasn't especially sorry to see her go.  
Hunter stood next, taking their coat from their man and walking to the doorway. “Rest well.” They said, and left without another word. Aria couldn't help but wonder if they would even bother to follow the order to pair up. Hunter tended towards solitude, usually only fraternizing with people outside their squadron at mandatory events or meetings.   
“Succinct as always.” Zayn muttered, crossing his arms.  
“Creepy as always.” Tyson whispered, earning another elbow.  
“Scary.” Zev whimpered, drooping slightly. He at least, seemed relieved to see them gone. Though Aria couldn't exactly blame him.  
“Do they normally stare at you like that?” She asked Zev, turning to look up at him.  
“I'm not sure.” He replied, regaining his composure. “I've never been trapped in a room with them before.” He abruptly started, then looked at her in fear. “You don't think they want to hunt me?!”  
Aria didn't know what to say. The thought hadn't occurred to her. It seemed too absurd to.  
The idea was apparently just as strange to the other two, as they burst out laughing Tyson holding his stomach and howling with laughter, while Zayn simply sank down into his chair in a fit of giggles.  
“What? What's so funny?!” Zev demanded, his face turning red. “I'm a Cambion! And I even look like this!” He motioned to his ears and eyes, tugging at his tail. “That person's a hunting fanatic! I'd be a perfect target!”  
“Oh my god!” Tyson roared, slapping his knees. “You're such a moron, crack-sniffer!”  
Aria tensed as Zev bared his teeth, growling at the red-haired man. “What did you call me?” He snarled, taking a step forward as patches of hair began sprouting on his skin, his face slowly beginning to elongate.  
Tyson stopped laughing immediately, taking an involuntary step back.  
“Zev!” Aria snapped, rising from her chair. “Enough.”  
He froze, looking to her in shock. Aria held his gaze, raising a single eyebrow. After a moment, he shuddered and stepped back, his visage reverting. He took a deep breath and looked down, clenching and unclenching his fists. Finally his breathing steadied, and he looked back up.  
“I'm sorry.” He breathed, sorrow filling his voice. “I went too far.”  
Aria wanted to comfort him, to tell him it was okay. Instead, she shook her head.  
“I expect better of you, Cherub Marit.” She replied in a steady voice, devoid of comfort. “You need to show the self-control you expect of your squad-mates.” He hung his head, and she turned her gaze to Tyson, who flinched. “The same goes for you, Cherub Elliot. I will not have you provoking members of my squad. Do I make myself clear?”  
“Crystal.” He replied in a hard voice, before sighing and shaking his head. “I'm sorry, guys. This whole thing has me on edge. I'd normally never say anything like that.”  
“I'm sorry too, Captain. It's just... you know. My situation. And this. I was scared.”  
Aria did understand, at least a little.  
“I get it, Zev. It's hard being a Cambion at the best of times. What I don't understand...” She turned to Zayn and placed her fists on her hips with narrowed eyes. “Is why YOU were laughing at him like that. A little rude, don't you think?”  
Zayn giggled one last time, wiping a tear from his eye. “I'm so sorry, Aria darling. But I couldn't help myself! Your puppy really can act very silly!”  
Zev bristled at that. “Excuse me? I'm nobodies puppy! And anybody in my position would be scared of that guy!”  
“Oh honey, no.” Zayn replied, pity in his voice. “That's not what I meant at all. I'm saying that you've nothing to fear of Hunter. They were just showing their interest.”  
“Is that what you call that expression?” Aria replied wryly, thinking back to the intense gaze Hunter had focused on Zev. “'Interest' isn't the first word that comes to mind.”  
“Exactly!” Zev was practically shouting, his tail poofing out. “They looked like they wanted to hunt me right then and there!”  
“No, Zevvy. That's not what they were thinking.” Zayn explained, speaking calmly and slowly, as if to a child. “They were most likely thinking about how useful you'd be on their next hunt. I believe they were actually pondering scouting you.”  
Silence fell between the four as Zayn's words sank in. Aria was utterly shocked at the idea. And she had no doubt Zev felt the same way.  
“Come again?” Zev asked blankly. Tyson chuckled at him, drawing a glare.  
“Listen up, wolf-boy.” He began, taking a seat on the table. “You probably don't know this, but Praxiteles? Well they only let people into their squad that they take a special interest in. And only those who'd be useful on a hunt. Trust me, it's impossible to get in any other way.”  
“Tyson.” He looked to Aria. “Have you been thinking of transferring to another squad?”  
“Nah, it’s not like that.” He replied, waving her off. “Back before I transferred to you, I was looking into my other options. I thought that hunter's squad would be cool. Plenty of travel, lots of exciting work, and maybe a couple hot foreigners, y'know?” He grinned. Aria rolled her eyes.  
“But he shot me down.” Tyson continued with a grimace. “Said my magic was too flashy for a hunt. Said I'd burn down the forests and let the demons know we were coming. So that was a no-go.” He grinned at her. “Good thing you took me up though, huh? Glad I got outta being in that guy's squad when I could.”  
Aria frowned, thinking back on the memories of Tyson's transfer. He'd been pretty adamant about it, and didn't seem to mind that she'd only just been given the promotion to Ophan. She'd barely even had a squad.  
It finally hit her. “That's right!” She said. “You transferred from captain Maes' squadron! I'd forgotten about that!” Her face dropped as she realized what that meant. “Oh. Oh Angel, I'm so sorry Tyson. I never even thought about what his passing would mean to you.”  
He didn't look at her. He didn't look at any of them.  
“Oh dear, my poor little firefly.” Zayn murmured, reaching out and putting a hand on Tyson's shoulder. Tyson didn't stop him.  
“It's fine.” He replied emotionlessly. “I left before I could grow close enough for this to hurt.” He looked back at them calmly. “I never got close to anybody there. So let's just drop it.” He shrugged Zayn's hand away. “Besides,” He grinned back at Zev, a wicked look in his eye. “Weren't we talking about the tail chaser here?”  
Zev looked ready to explode, his face growing red with anger. Aria decided it was time to put a stop to any more arguing between the two.  
“You know what?” Zev began, taking a step towards Tyson. Aria put her hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.  
“Yes, we were talking about that.” She tossed a glare Tyson's way. He looked away, smiling smugly. She made a note to punish him later. “Zayn, why don't you explain? And maybe in a less patronizing way this time around?”  
“Of course, darling!” He smiled, flipping his hair with a sparkle. “Now pay attention, my dear Zev. You have nothing to fear from our dear Captain Praxiteles.”  
“Oh yeah?” Zev asked tiredly. “How so?”  
“You see, though they may love the hunt, and that hunt always involves a demon, they have no bone to pick with any law abiding Cambion. In fact, they actually employ the greatest amount of Cambions in their squadron, even beating out yours truly!” He smiled proudly.  
“I-I didn't know.” Zev mumbled ashamedly, looking down.  
“Don't look so crestfallen, darling. It's not common knowledge. Why, I doubt even our dear Aria knew.” Zayn turned to her expectantly. “Surely I'm right.”  
Aria sighed, nodding her head. “You're right. I honestly didn't know anything about that. But it's not all that surprising, considering.”  
Zayn nodded, apparently satisfied. “Indeed. And while it's not well known, it's also true that they also have one of the largest squadrons of all Ophanim. They're just so rarely seen around the bases and in public. They hardly seem to care whether anyone knows about them.”  
“That would be because they don't. They focus only on hunting and taking care of their subordinates. Nothing else matters to them.”  
Aria jumped slightly at that, turning to look at Easton. He was still sitting across the table from her, fingers laced as he watched their group.  
“Oh.” She said. “You're still here.”  
He pressed a hand against his chest in mock shock. “How rude, of course I am. I'm paired off with you, after all. It's for safety.”  
“Of course it is.” Aria replied dryly, and stood. “And I'm sure you could keep me very safe. But see, I think it would be more comfortable for the both of us if I stayed with my boys tonight.” She locked her elbows with both Tyson and Zev, drawing them close. “So I won't be alone tonight. But look at this! You and Zayn both need a safety-buddy! Isn't that convenient?” Catching Zayn's eye, she subtly jerked her head, silently pleading for his assistance.  
He seemed to agree. Standing up with a flourish, he threw out one hand, the other to his chest.  
“Now that sounds like a perfectly fabulous setup, my dear. Why don't you go catch up with your friends. We men can have our own fun tonight.” He smirked knowingly at Easton. “Besides, it wouldn't be proper for a young girl to share a room with such a well-known ladykiller. Who knows what dangers he could face?”  
Easton sighed in defeat and stood up. “You wound me. I'll have you know I reserved a room at the local Confort. Separate beds, separate bathrooms. I'm no deviant.”  
“Of course not darling, I never suspected any such thing. Shall we go then? It's getting awfully late, and a girl needs her beauty rest.” Winking at Aria, he strolled around the table, took Easton by the hand, and dragged him out of the room. “Call me, darling.” He trilled back from the hallway. “We'll do lunch, once you get everything sorted out for your stay.”  
“You got it!” She called back, waving after them.  
“So now what?” Tyson asked, arms crossed. “Pretty sure you didn't bother to reserve anything. I guess you have less foresight than the manwhore back there. And you coulda mooched off the crossdresser. He's rich, he coulda paid for a nice room.”  
Aria sighed, wishing Tyson showed more respect for other people. She was too tired to berate him for it now though.  
“No Tyson, I didn't reserve anything. When I got here, I hadn't exactly expected to end up staying in a meeting this late, and certainly not because two people I happened to like had died.” She shook her head, trying to clear away the heavy sorrow. She'd hoped to take the train back home the next day, to spend the rest of her time on leave with her parents. So much for that plan.  
“I'm sure we can find a hotel, Sudhir's a busy city. It's not like there's any shortage of people passing through.”  
“Right. Probably a dump. But we've slept in worse, huh?”  
“Hush you. Let's just go find a place. Ready to go Zev?”  
The wolf-eared man smiled smugly. “Certainly. Why don't we head over to the Confort? Our room should be ready by now.”  
“Uh, news flash dog-boy. That room's been taken by the other two, remember? The whole switch with the crossdresser?” Tyson sounded both tired and annoyed, much to Zev's pleasure.  
“Of course I remember. But I just so happen to have reserved a room ahead of time, before we got here. Do you really think I'd force our Captain to scour the city streets after a night like this? Be reasonable.”  
Aria smiled at that. Zev was downplaying it, but she knew it had taken more effort than that to set this all up.  
“Nice job Zev.” She praised, patting his shoulder. “As usual, you’re on top of everything. I don't know what I'd do without you.”  
Zev's chest swelled with pride, and he stepped forward, leading them out the room and down the hall. “I'm sure you'd be fine without me, Captain. Shall we?”  
Tyson rolled his eyes and followed. “Guess the team boy-scout pulls through again.” He muttered, not unhappily. “Next time, maybe you'll remember to actually tell us.  
“Hush you.” Aria rebuked, lightly slapping his back. She couldn't get too mad at him. It was late after all, and she had more things to worry about than his manners.  
Following her men, she pondered how busy she would likely be the next few days. She'd have to work hard if she wanted to see Leif again soon.  
“Better do your best, little brother.” She murmured to herself. “The first week is always the hardest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing is the hardest part of writing, please shoot me. Also, Zayne is just the most fun to write and Zev is a very good boi.
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment if you can!


	6. Class begins

“There, see? That wasn't too hard.”  
I sent a skeptical look Heath’s way. “It took us. Twenty minutes to find this place.” I replied. “And most of that was backtracking after getting directions.”  
“Yeah, but it took less time than we thought. You still have ten minutes before class starts!”  
He wasn't exactly wrong, though that extra time was mostly thanks to the fact that I'd gotten up so early, much to his surprise. He was even more surprised when I declined any coffee, opting instead to snack on a bowl of dry cereal, thanks to the conspicuous lack of milk in our dorm.  
My alarm woke me at six, while I did briefly consider just saying “fuck it!” and going back to sleep, I eventually managed to drag myself out of bed. It was then I was greeted with the ever-so-helpful reminder I hadn’t unpacked in the form of four bags strewn about the floor in various states of mess. I just sighed and snatched a set of clothes, leaving the bags to their own devices. I’d probably get to them at some point.  
Heath was awake too, and by the looks of it, he had been for a while. He greeted me with shirtless surprise, sweat already glistening on his abs. Apparently he woke up early for a workout every morning, which I could both believe and not comprehend in the slightest. I waved hello and slouched to the bathroom to get ready for whatever nightmare the morning trek had in store for me.  
Mostly people as lost as I was, it turned out. Guess the tours could only help so much. Most of the other students we encountered were hoping we could give THEM directions. It was sad, really. And a little funny. In the end, we were only really able to find the building by asking for directions from one of the faculty members attending the flowerbeds, an older woman wearing a straw sunhat.  
We needed help twice more before we found it.  
“You know,” I pondered aloud, staring at the brickwork building I was assured was somehow different from the other dozen surrounding it. A sign on stone read “Alexander-Temel Hall.” “If they put up more 'You are here' signs, or made the buildings distinct in any way, we might not be having this problem.”  
“You probably just get used to it.” He replied, looking down at his schedule. “Eventually.”  
“Soon, I'd hope. This place is a fucking maze. You'd think a magic school would look more... I dunno. Magical?”  
Heath chuckled, folding the paper and sticking it in his back pocket. “Yeah, that could be cool. Anyway, I gotta find my way back to the workshop from here. I'll try to catch up with you after class. Here.” He handed me a small, folded tab of paper.  
“What's this?”  
“Paper. It's got mine and Sofia's number. She stopped by this morning before you woke up. Said we should meet for lunch later.”  
I stared skeptically at the paper in my hand. “When did she have the time to come by? I was up at six in the freaking morning.”  
“I dunno, around five-thirty? I was in the middle of my ab routine, and she didn't stay long.”  
“You guys are freaks, you know that?”  
Heath grinned and walked off. “You'll probably get used to it. Eventually!” He called back with a wave, leaving me to make the rest of the way alone. Well, as alone as you can get when surrounded by students.  
I watched him jog off, then turned to enter the building. “Probably.” I grumbled, opening my messenger bag and switching the paper out with my class schedule. “But that doesn't mean it isn't weird.  
At the first glance, the inside of the building was about as boringly unremarkable as the outside. Unblemished hallways tiled in polished slate, classrooms alternating on either side. Pretty standard stuff.  
I flipped through my schedule. “Lesse,” I mumbled, scanning over the room numbers as they passed. “Magical Theory and Application... Room one-oh-five... Ah, there.”  
I walked in and found classroom 105 to be more of a small auditorium than a normal classroom, with rows of seats with swiveling desktops and maybe two inches between each. The front (or maybe the back?) of the room had only a whiteboard and a simple desk. Maybe ten people were already sitting in the room, scattered at random.  
Either the class was small or everyone else got even more lost than I did.  
Pushing that thought aside, I walked down the side isle and sidled my way into the middle of an uninhabited row near the front. I glanced to either side. Nope, nobody around. Looking forward, the very front row was occupied by a single blond girl. Other than that, I was on my own.  
“I name this row: Leif land.” I muttered, pulling out a notebook and pencil. I opened it, and quickly doodled a small island with a stick figure on it. It looked horrible. “Home only to loners who talk to themselves. And people with candy.”  
“What was that about candy?” Came a friendly voice, bringing with it an involuntary spasm that sent my pencil flying. Slowly I turned to see who had spoken, with Oh god, did they hear me? flashing through my mind.  
Obviously yes, but embarrassment makes for less than stellar thought processing.  
The person in question was standing only a seat away. He… She? They. They smiled and pushed a strand of their long, kinky purple hair out of their face and back into the mass of floof they’d swept to the right. They held a container, partially obscured by the overlong sleeves of their massively baggy sweater in hand. In sleeve? They offered it forward. “Cookie?”  
Who am I to reject so kind an offer? I accepted one and took a bite. It was chocolate-y and warm, and very, very welcome in my life. “Oh. Oh my god.” I mumbled around a mouthful of crumbs. “This is amazing!”  
They smiled wider, dimpling their face. “I'm glad you liked it! That means the new recipe was a success!”  
Dropping into the seat next to me, they set the container on my desk and pulled a notebook from their bag, flipping through several filled pages before stopping to write in one. The top read “Oatmeal double chocolate.”  
I finished my cookie in silent ecstasy, discreetly examining my new friend, as ordained by cookie.  
They had an overall androgynous look going, and it was a little hard to with their light blue sweater, but they seemed a little chubby too. Looking a little closer, I could see a small scar under their left eye.  
“So.” They said cheerfully, suddenly turning to face me again. I jerked slightly, hoping they hadn't noticed me examining them. “What did you think of the cookie? Did it have enough chocolate? Was it too sweet? How do you think it could be improved?”   
“Ummmm...” Ah yes. Another display of my rapier wit.  
They rested their chin on their free hand, eyes bright in anticipation. “Do you think adding cinnamon would improve it? Was the oatmeal too noticeable? I hope it wasn't too grainy!”  
I really hadn’t expected test so early in the semester, and definitely not on cookies. I hadn't thought too much into the cookie when I'd eaten it, I'd just enjoyed it. Now I felt like I owed them a proper answer, but I was a little too confused by their serenely intense interrogation.  
You know, before coming to this school, being at a loss for words wasn't something that usually happened to me.  
“Well I-” I began.  
“Reilly! There you are, I was looking for you! Sorry for the wait, the bathroom took forever to find in here!”  
A slim girl in artfully torn-up jeans and a red, off-the-shoulder top dropped into the seat one the other side of the cookie inquirer- Reilly. She reached over Reilly's desk and grabbed a morsel from the container on mine, biting into it with a happy sigh.  
“Awesome as always! Who's this guy?” She gave me a once over, her expression somewhat distant.  
“Don't know.” Reilly replied in a distracted voice, still staring at me. I guess they were still waiting for my response to their questions. “A new friend?”  
I cleared my throat and smiled. “Leif. My name's Leif. Thanks for the cookie, by the way. It was pretty great.”  
The slim girl snorted and brushed a stray hair behind her left ear, which was pierced with various small hoops and studs. “Only pretty good?” She muttered, not as quietly as she probably thought.  
“Oh good!” Reilly replied, tapping their pencil on the desk with thoughtful expression. “But what about specifics? I can't settle for just pretty good; I need to make it great.”  
“Well I-”  
“Of course he loved it!” Reilly's friend interrupted dismissively, taking another bite. “You never make anything less than perfect. He'll tell you it's delicious.”  
Does this girl ever stop interrupting people? I coughed awkwardly. “Well, like she said, I think it tastes great. As for the specifics, I think it has enough chocolate, cinnamon could be a nice touch, but it probably isn't necessary. And the oatmeal isn't a problem at all. Barely noticeable, really.” I reached for another cookie. You know, just to confirm my conclusions.  
Reilly's face lit up, and a smile that seemed to warm the room spread across their face. No, the room was legitimately warmer than before.  
“Aw, thank you! That's really helpful!” They turned back to their notebook, hurriedly taking small notes on the recipe page. I watched for a moment, reading over the ingredients. The recipe looked pretty solid, in my opinions. I made a mental note to ask for a copy later.  
“Hey you.”  
I glanced up at the Amber haired girl. “Yeah?”  
“No stealing the recipe. It's Reilly's.”  
“You know,” I said, voice polite. “Most people introduce themselves with their name, or a 'hello.' Not warnings against recipe thievery.” I waved. “Nice to meet you, I’m Leif.”  
The girl tilted her head and stared at my face like it was a book. It felt weird. After a full minute, and trust me I counted, she smiled and did a little finger-wave back.  
“Erin. Sorry for interrupting and all that, it was rude. I just think that Reilly needs to have more confidence in their cooking!” She lightly elbowed her friend, who poked her back without looking up. “And sorry for accusing you like that. You just seemed really interested in that recipe.”  
I leaned back. “No problem, I guess. Maybe try being nicer, wouldn't want to accidentally make a first-day enemy, or something else cliched.” Or be here at all, in my case.  
She smirked. “I wouldn't worry too much. Not everyone's as salty as you seem about being here.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“I-mmph!” Erin's response was cut short by the cookie now occupying the space in her mouth that air had moments before. At the same time, I found a cookie of my own blocking my view. Peeking around it revealed Reilly holding both with a cheerful smile.  
“Come on guys! It's the first day of class!” We should all be friends! And nothing brings friends together like good food!”  
I accepted and watched Reilly lean back, munching on their own cookie. They closed their eyes and chewed in serene happiness. I smiled and took bite of mine. Reilly was okay in my book.  
Erin pulled remaining two thirds of her cookie from her mouth and brandished it at her friend.  
“You've really gotta stop doing that! I'd hate to choke and ruin the memory of one of your recipes.” She didn't sound all that angry, just annoyed.  
“Be nice and I won't have to.” Reilly replied. “You don’t need to be so catty when people are so nice to you.”  
I didn't think I'd been as nice as Reilly seemed to think, but I wasn't about to argue the point. It had netted me another cookie after all.  
“So I’m guessing you two are friends then.” It was an educated guess.  
Erin rolled her eyes. “Nah, what would give you that idea? The way we talk? Or maybe that they can shove a cookie down my throat and not pay for it until later.” She smirked at Reilly. Reilly smiled back.  
“Call it a hunch.” I replied with a smile. “Something subtle, and not at all obvious.”  
“Be nice you two.” Reilly chided. “Or no more cookies for you.”  
Well dang, now I had no choice.  
“Sorry teach.” I replied in my most authentic, falsely humble tone. “I promise to be good. Please don't take away my snack time.”  
“Yeah, I’m so very sorry!” Erin drawled. “I promise to be kind.”  
Reilly chuckled. “Well as long as you know who's in charge, I guess you can have another cookie each. Just don't spoil your lunch!”  
I wasn’t about to argue.  
“Speaking of your cookies...” I started, taking a bite of the older one still in my hand. “They’re surprisingly fresh. How’d you keep them overnight?”  
“Actually, we made them before breakfast this morning.” Reilly paused thoughtfully. “Last night would have been the better time, but that freshness is just too good to pass up! Had to be today.”  
“We” huh? They must be roommates too. I nodded. “So you magicked them, yeah? You must be good with fire.”  
Reilly shook their head. “No, not really. Well, I used magic, but it wasn't-”  
“Sorry to interrupt,” Erin interrupted in a not-so-sorry voice, her head tilted again, “But the teacher's here.”  
We all looked to the back of the room, just in time to see it open. In rushed a short, stout woman dressed in a dark skirt and white blouse, her greying brown hair bobbed. A multitude of loose metal bracelets jangled at her wrists, flashing periodically in the fluorescent lighting of the classroom. She was also surrounded by a group of floating blue-white clip boards, one of which she was busy writing on as she walked. They followed her as she strolled down the side of the room, giving off a slight but pronounced aura of magical energy.  
Stopping in front of the whiteboard, she let loose a heavy sigh, capped her pen with one hand, and put it in her pocket whilst motioning downwards with her other. The floating boards slowly descended, settling on the table without a sound.  
“Dispareo.” She said, clapping her hands with a clinking of metal and the clipboards simply faded away, leaving the papers to settle onto the table in anticlimax.  
Pulling off her reading glasses, the woman finally looked up at the class, scanning over the seats with a blank expression.  
“Well now, looks like everyone who plans on being here is.” She mused aloud. “Let's start class then, shall we?” Her voice rang clear and strong, and she spoke in a calm, no-nonsense tone. “My name is Cara Hemming, and I will be your teacher for this semester. You may call me Professor or Ms. Hemming, either one will do.” She smiled calmly. “Hello everyone, and welcome to Magical Theory and Application.”  
A quiet round of “hello” and its variants sounded from around the room, and it seemed a steady trickle of students had joined the class while the cookie debate was raging on. Probably close to twenty-five tired looking people were sitting behind me, though most looked interested enough in what came next.  
Ms. Hemming gave a satisfied nod. “Very good, seems you're awake enough to pay attention. I'll call attendance at the end of class and we’ll have some papers for you to read at your leisure. But first, let me see a show of hands. Who can tell me, in no uncertain terms, what magic is?”  
Easy enough. I raised my hand, as did several other students, Reilly and Erin included. The blond-haired girl in the front row was the first, her hand shooting into the air nearly before the teacher had finished talking. Two girls other girls at her sides raised their hands as well.  
Ms. Hemming shook her head. “Around half, hm? Well, it's around what I expected. You.” She pointed to blondie. “Stand please.” She checked her papers. “And could you please state your name?  
The girl rose smoothly, her creamy gold curls bouncing. “Elizabeth Harris.”  
“Thank you, Miss Harris. Now, what is magic? At it's very core, when broken down into the simplest of terms, what is the phenomenon we call magic?”  
“Magic,” Elizabeth began, her voice clear and confident. “Is the result of mixing the ambient energy of nature with the inner power of the caster. Mages, or people with magical capabilities, take these two different energies and mix them together, forging them into the application of power known as a spell.”  
Ms. Hemming nodded, seemingly satisfied, scribbling on her papers as Elizabeth spoke. “Wonderful, Miss Harris. A textbook answer, and quite correct. I could hardly have put it more succinctly myself.” She motioned for Elizabeth to sit, who complied.  
“Magic,” She continued, taking a pen from the whiteboard tray and writing the word down. “Is the mixing of natural and spiritual energy...” To the top left of the word, Ms. Hemming drew a circle and wrote “Spirit.” She then drew a star and wrote “Nature” to the top right. “...To bring about a change upon the world around you.” She finished, making two arrows down to the word “Magic” and drawing a pentagram.  
Turning back to the class, she capped her marker and set it down. “Now then.” She spoke, scanning the room. “Who can tell me... Ah yes, you. You with the silver hair in the fourth row.”  
I jumped, realizing she was talking to me. I didn’t know she’d start calling on random people, but I guess that was the game we were playing now. I stood up.  
“Name, please.” She bid.  
“Leif Harmony.”  
I thought I could see recognition dawning on her face, but it was gone before I had time to worry.  
“Thank you. Right then Mister Harmony, can you tell me the basis of how we use magic? More specifically, the process of casting spells.” She paused and seemed to reconsider. “In fact,” she continued, “why don't you start by telling us what a spell is.”  
That seemed a bit much for one question, but that’s just how college worked, it seemed.  
“Spells are the application of a mage's magic to cause an effect, given form by incantation, key words, or just pure willpower.” I said, then amended “Depending on how awesome at their job the mage in question is, I guess.”  
A couple people snickered. Of course they did, I’d tacked pure stupid onto the end.  
For her part, Ms. Hemming didn't seem too bothered by it. “You guess or you know?” She inquired, fingering the pendant around her neck. “Please be clear.”  
“I know.” I replied, trying for nonchalant and feeling anything but.  
“Good.” She replied, her tone amused. “Now tell me, how 'awesome' would a mage have to be to only need their will to focus their magic into a spell?”  
“Well...” I stalled, hoping the ceiling would collapse and save me from my own embarrassment. “They would most likely have to be around the level of an Ophanim, or at least pretty close, though I think it would depend on the power or complexity of the spell in question. Words act as a focus for magic power, and a conduit for our will, yeah? They're the very core of how the magic system works.”  
Prof. Hemming smiled and walked to the front row. “Correct. Though the number is low, there are people, high ranking members of the Slayers, for example, who can cast powerful spells without the need for incantations, and without the use of a key word. Of course, that does raise the question: Why is it that children are able to exhibit use of their magic before they even know how it works? When the first signs of a young child's magic show, they do not use words, do they? In fact, many magi find they still have the ability to demonstrate their magic, if only in a very simplified manner. Like so.”  
Our teacher raised her hand into the air and held out a single finger, glowing with soft light. Moving it through the air, it left softly flickering lines floating in its wake. With a few quick movements, the lines turned into a drawing of a pyramid, which soon filled in and was left a solid blue-white.  
Taking it from the air, Ms. Hemming bounced it in her palm, gazing at it with satisfaction. “Catch.” She said, tossing it through the air to me. I did. It was faintly warm, radiating a soft aura of the energy that made up its core structure.  
“As you all can see, I’ve just performed simple Shaping Magic. And, I might add, without the use of any words. Now why do you suppose that is? Anyone may answer. Yes, you with the purple. Your name please?”  
“Reilly Esme.”  
“Ah good. Please, Miss Esme. What do you think the answer is?”  
Reilly stood jerkily, taking a deep breath. “I... I think it's because magic is... a very integral part of a person. Like a muscle!” They said excitedly. “When you first use a muscle, you don't think about it, and it just happens! But if you train it, like by working out or studying magic, you can strengthen it and do things you didn't know you could. On purpose though!”  
Ms. Hemming smiled and nodded at that. “Another excellent answer.” She walked back to the board and picked up another marker, drawing a flexing arm with a comedically large bicep.  
“The muscle metaphor was actually quite appropriate.” She wrote the word “Ability” in the flex and turned back to the class. “Like she said-”  
“They.” Reilly said.  
“Pardon?”  
“I prefer to be referred to by ‘they.’”  
Ms. Hemming blinked in surprise, then nodded. “My apologies Reilly. Like they said,” She continued “Magical prowess is similar in nature to a muscle, though admittedly slightly more complex than that. When first used, it's more akin to an involuntary muscle, happening automatically and without any mental input on the part of the caster. But-” She turned to the board again and drew a brain, with arrows leading from it to the arm. “Once you are made aware of the nature of your magic, you are able to call upon it at will. And although weak at first, constant use will see an increase in its strength and dexterity, allowing for the usage of spell-casting. This is similar to how a child moves from crawling to standing, and finally to walking and running.”  
Ms. Hemming turned back to the class, setting the marker down on the desk beside her and folding her arms.  
“At this point in your lives, many of you have only just begun to stand on your own two feet. Metaphorically of course. The purpose of this class will to be to either teach you or give you a refresher on the basics of magic, and to help you to take your first steps into the life of a Magus.”  
Cara Hemming looked over us all with a stern expression, a subdued passion burning in her eyes.  
“I do realize you will have already learned something of magic, and that you all will have your own spells. Along with this, you will have formed your own ideas on how to best utilize your individual talents.” She sighed before continuing. “And, admittedly, some of you will be far ahead of your classmates in terms of skill and knowledge, while others among you will only know enough to attend. But in this classroom we will be running through the basics, and the basics are known to assist even the masters, from time to time.”   
Waiting for a moment, Professor Hemming sighed, put her glasses back on, and sat down at her desk.  
“Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get started on the handouts.” Picking up the stacks of paper she'd walked in with, she moved to the front row and handed them to the blond girl, Elizabeth.  
“I have here the planned curriculum, the grading scale for this class, and the grading guidelines. Please take one of each and pass them on.”  
The sheets made their way up to and past us. As Professor Hemming began to explain what they said, I stopped listening as I started to read them myself.  
The first sheet held the grading scale, which was straightforward enough. One hundred to ninety percent was an “A,” eighty-nine to eighty percent was a “B” and so on and so forth. The teacher's words started to register in my mind again.  
“Remember: Ten percent of your total grade will come from attendance and participation. It may seem low, but it can be the difference between passing and failing. I hope to see you here for every class.”  
Made sense to me. This school was all about ensuring that we were equipped to handle what life would throw at us, both mundane and extreme. And considering our lives would most likely involve demons, it wasn't a surprise that they'd want us to be at class every day. It wouldn't even have surprised me if she'd made it an even larger part of the grade, though that might be considered unfair around cold and flu season.  
Next to me, Erin raised her hand.  
“Yes?” Professor Hemming asked, pointing to Erin.  
“Well, I was wondering...” Erin started.  
“Your name please.” Cara interrupted.  
“Oh, right. Erin Lalita.”  
“Thank you. Please continue.”  
Erin nodded. “Well... I was wondering about part of our grades. It says 'Cross-class activities.' Are we going to be working with other classes?”  
“Ah yes, thank you for asking.” Professor Hemming replied, flipping through her papers before taking one and showing it off to the class. “One thing you should know is that many subjects will intersect at various points, and many times you’ll find that one class will tend to act as points of reference to an area in another, which may lead to yet another as well. The curriculum of not only my class, but many others has been designed with that relationship in mind. As such, there will be times in which your normal schedules will be changed to accommodate a mixing of two or more classes, allowing for synchronicity in our teaching. Or, to put it in a far more simple way, we have times planned where a lesson will be taught by two or more teachers, because it relates to both classes taught.” Ms. Hemming re-combined the papers with a sigh. “So with that in mind, are there any further questions on cross-class activities?” Nobody said anything. Ms. Hemming nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. Then to continue on...”  
“Yo, excuse me!” Boomed a male voice from the back, making the entire class jump. Several people, myself included, put their hands over their ears. At the front of the room, the whiteboard shook slightly.  
“Please.” Ms. Hemming called out. “Don't shout like that in the classroom. It’s a rude misuse of magic power.  
“Oh, it was magic.” Reilly whispered. “That makes sense.”  
I turned in my chair to look for whoever had decided to turn themselves into a human loudspeaker. He wasn't hard to find. He was the guy surrounded by annoyed students, glaring at him with covered ears, looking only slightly embarrassed.  
“Sorry teach!” He called back, normally this time. He fidgeted with the headphones around his neck, and tugged at the cut-off denim jacket he wore before continuing. “Sorry.” He repeated. “I'm not too great with controlling my magic yet.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but the blush on his face was all too apparent. “That happens when I get excited sometimes.”  
Ms. Hemming just nodded. “Well, that's one of the things you will hopefully be learning here, after all. Did you have a question? Mister...?”  
“Kaleo. Kaleo Elrad!” He responded proudly.  
“Alright Mister Elrad, what was your question?”  
“Well,” He started, idly fingering the draw-strings of his hood. “I was just wondering if you had a schedule planned out for those special classes. Y'know, so we can plan ahead and stuff.”  
Professor Hemming sighed. “The answer to that is both yes and no. While we had much of the activities planned out and prepared over the summer, recent events have led to a slight change in plans. Therefore, you will each be receiving notifications one week in advance.” She rubbed her forehead before finishing. “Does that answer your question?”  
“Yeah, sure thing.” Kaleo replied, giving her a thumb up.  
“Excellent. So, unless anyone else needs a question answered...” She looked around the room pointedly and was only answered by silence before she continued. “...Then I'd like to use the last few minutes of class to get you started on the basics, which will be what we most focus on these next few weeks.”  
Turning back to the whiteboard, she circled the brain drawing.  
“To continue from where we left off, spells are focused, intended uses of magic, made with a specific effect in mind. It does not have to be a large effect, nor is it necessary for it to be flashy or grandiose. What separates a spell cast from a simple display of magic is the conscious effort and design placed into it. Put another way, magic itself is a natural, sometimes involuntary display of energy or power, while a spell is a thought out, intended action.” She turned back to face us. “Is everyone with me so far?”  
Various mumbles and nods followed. Ms. Hemming seemed to accept it.  
“Good, good. I'm happy you all seem to understand the very basics. However, like with every rule, there is an exception.” Scanning the hall, her eyes fell on the back row. “Can one of you in the back tell me what it is? Yes, you with the purple hijab, please go ahead.”  
A dark-skinned girl in a pink blouse and with a royal purple scarf wrapped around her hair stood up politely, her hands folded.  
“Hello.” She said clearly, inclining her head slightly. “My name is Adara Serkan.”  
“A pleasure to have you in my class Miss Serkan.”  
“The pleasure is mine.” Adara responded with a gracious smile.  
“Now then,” Ms. Hemming continued. “Would you like to tell the class what the exception to the rule is?”  
Adara nodded. “I'd be happy to. I believe the answer is just what we were speaking of earlier: that highly skilled magi are able to bypass the need for an incantation, casting a spell with willpower and magic power alone.”  
“That's exactly right, Miss Serkan. Would you care to explain that to the class further? And if you can, explain why it is normal for magi to be able to use small displays of magic without words more frequently.”  
“Happily.” Adara responded. “As I understand it to be, it relates back to the analogy about magic as a muscle. The more use it sees, the stronger it grows, and the more it can be used. I think...” She paused to think.  
“Take your time.” Said Professor Hemming, scribbling on her papers. “Your best, well thought out answer is better than a quick, half-baked thought.”  
Adara did take her time, almost thirty seconds of staring down in deep thought. Finally, she looked back up and continued. “I think it is because, like with the body itself, you can train it to do things that it could not before, and that other people could not either, without such training. I believe it's like people who practice yoga. By stretching out their bodies over time in ways that they normally wouldn't, they can train their bodies to do such things far more easily. In fact...” A thought seemed to dawn on her, recognition showing on her face. “I think it's best analogous to a person who both practices yoga and who spends time working out their muscles at a gym!”  
The professor smiled encouragingly. “That's a very interesting interpretation, Miss Serkan. Please explain your thoughts on that.”  
Adara nodded in excitement. “It's because by engaging in both activities, the body would strengthen in two ways: building up muscle strength to increase the power the body can put out, but also increasing its flexibility and dexterity, to help decrease the chances of self-harm, and to increase the skill with which one can use their muscles!”  
Professor Hemming clapped her hands together. “Excellent! Your summary is quite accurate, if slightly simplified. But you're very correct!”   
Turning back to the whiteboard, she began writing in the only blank space left.  
“As Miss Serkan was so gracious as to bring the discussion back to the muscle analogy from earlier, this shouldn't take too long.” As she spoke, she wrote three words on the board in a triangle. “Power,” “Skill,” and “Experience.”  
“Just as Reilly brought up, your magical ability is like a special muscle you have, one that works similarly to those that other people have, but also one that, like you, is individualistic and different from that of every other person on the planet.” At the center, she wrote “Individual,” capped her marker, and rapped it against the word. “Much like each of you is an individual, entirely separate from those around you, each of your respective magics will prove to be idiosyncratic in its own right, from how you apply it, to the form it naturally takes, to the growth and change you'll experience with it as you yourself grow and change.”  
A thought occurred, and I raised my hand.  
“Yes, Mister Harmony?”  
“Yeah, so if that's the case, how can you possibly have a class that caters to all of us then?” I asked. “If we're all so different, and individuality plays as big a role as you claim, how can a general studies class cater to each of us? It doesn’t sound too possible.”  
Our teacher nodded nodded. “That's a fair question. And the answer is simple: we don't.”  
I don't think anybody expected that answer. The sounds of shifting and murmurs started up, with everybody seemingly wondering the same thing.  
“Uh... What?”  
“We do not cater to your individual talents. At least, not in this class. I understand what I said may have worried a great number of you, judging by the whispering, but please allow me to explain.”  
Professor Hemming adjusted her glasses and held out her hand with the palm facing up and muttered a word. Immediately you could feel a slight flow of power as blue-white light gathered in her hand, eventually taking the shape of a small person.  
“I'd like you each to picture this as yourself.” She said, raising her other hand and creating another doll. “And picture this as the person sitting next to you.”  
“Which side?” Someone called out.  
“Either one, it really doesn't matter so long as you understand. Now please picture it.” She replied, waiting a moment before continuing. With a flick of her finger, the dolls began marching in a small circle in the air around her head.  
“Picture yourself walking down a path with the person next to you. You both walk in the same direction, probably at a similar speed. Maybe you're walking home from the grocery store together, or back to the dorms from class.” She paused to think. “Well, it doesn't really matter where you're walking to in this scenario, so long as you understand that you're walking together. Now does everyone have this image in your mind?” She looked around the room expectantly, waiting for a response from the crowd. I nodded, and a smattering of people around me mumbled their own affirmations.  
I guess it was good enough. Ms. Hemming nodded and swiped her finger through the air, drawing another square like before. This one also quickly filled itself in but remained much thinner than the last.  
“You both walk down the road together at the start,” Ms. Hemming spoke, and pointed to the floating miniatures, who were now walking in a straight line, side by side. They stopped in front of the sign for a moment, then split apart, walking in opposite directions. “But as time goes on, you will find that your paths diverge, taking you in different directions. It may be sooner for some, or later, but that divergence will happen. And what causes that split, can anyone tell me? Just call out your answer.”  
“An argument?” Someone yelled.  
“A sign that tells you where to go.” Someone else said.  
“You live in different directions!” Another person called out.  
Our teacher shook her head. “No. You go in different directions because the differences in what you must do drive you to separate. Maybe one of you must pick up a sibling, while the other has to meet a friend. Maybe you both live in different dormitories, and maybe one of you wants food while the other wants sleep. The point is, that until that point, you could carry on with each other on the path. But when the time came for you to do what you personally needed, you had to separate.” She clenched her hand into a fist and murmured a word, dissolving the dolls and sign into the air. Looking to the class, she pushed up her glasses and waved at us.  
“You will all have to pursue that path at some point, and what that path will entail will rely on you. But until then, this class will act as the shared path. That is what the basics are all about. You will learn from us all that you can the same way your classmates will, and then you will take the path most suited to you and your magic. But you more than likely won't be taking that path for at least a year.” She looked directly at me. “Most of your classes will function as the shared path, at least at the start. As you move on, there will be classes that will help you on the individual level instead. But in this class at least, the basics come first.” She smiled wryly. “After all, a theory is how any great discovery starts to be understood. And with that knowledge out of the way, I'll see you all tomorrow. Have a nice day.”  
Waving good-bye, Professor Hemming sat back down at the table and began looking through her papers as the class started leaving. Next to me, Reilly and Erin stood and gathered their things.  
“So it’s really just magic basics then.” I muttered. “I wonder if she'll get around to mine?”  
“Do you always sit around mumbling to yourself?” Erin asked, bending to look at me. “Or is today just special?”  
“Be nice Erin.” Reilly chided.  
“No, it's fine.” I responded, standing up to look Erin in the face. “And of course I talk to myself. It's the only way to make sure the aliens don't read my mind.”  
Erin seemed taken aback, drawing her head back slightly with a confused frown. “You realize that just doesn't make much sense, don't you?”  
I chuckled and swept my papers into my backpack, telling myself I’d organize it later. Probably wouldn’t. “Yeah, I know. But you expect a crazy answer from crazy people who talk to themselves, don't you?”  
“Well they say the first step is admitting you have a problem.” She replied, watching me sling my bag over my shoulder. “So yeah, nice to meet you and all that. See you in class later.”  
Erin sidled her way out of the row of seats, turning back to look as she reached the side of the room. “You coming, Reilly?”  
“In a minute!” They turned back to me. “So what's your schedule look like? We might share some of the same classes.”  
Strangely enough, the thought of coordinating my schedule with anyone else hadn't actually crossed my mind. It probably would have been a good idea last night, when Heath and Sophia were still around. At least they’d thought far enough ahead to give me their numbers. At least somebody was on top of things.  
I pulled my schedule from my back pocket and unfolded it for Reilly to see. Reilly plucked it from my hand and ran a finger down the list.  
“Oh hey, looks like we all share another couple classes. 'Intro to College Mathematics' and 'Practical Application and Battle Magic/ Fitness and Self Defense.' Oh! And the second one starts in an hour!” They sounded genuinely happy to hear that.  
“Huh, looks like it's held in that weird arena thing. Think they’ll make us fight to the death?”  
I turned my head slightly, resisting the urge to leap to the side. Erin’s was right there, between us both. She’d walked to the row behind us to literally stick her nose into my business.  
“Hi.” I said. “You comfy? Can I get you anything while you’re here? In my space?”  
“I could go for a coke.” She replied, sticking out her tongue. “All this salt’s making me thirsty.”  
“I really wish you’d stop doing that.” Reilly said, handing me my schedule. “It bugs people.”  
“And pass up an opportunity to see a guy jump? Never gonna happen! Even if you do hide it well, leafy boy.” She patted my cheek.  
Don’t touch me. I gave her a look. “No idea what you mean. Anyway, you were saying about the Coliseum?”  
“No, I said the Arena.” Erin replied smoothly.  
“Pretty sure it's a coliseum.”  
“Pretty sure you're wrong.”  
“Pretty sure it doesn't matter!” Reilly announced, pushing Erin back by the chin. “And what did you want to say about the class, Erin?”  
Erin took a step back and folded her arms. “I was just wondering what the class would be like, with a long ass name like that. Think we'll be using all that space to practice spells on training dummies or something?”  
My mind drifted back to my earlier encounter with Veda, and the very distinct first impression she'd made on us. I met the woman and I still don’t know what to expect.  
Erin peered at my face. “You already have an idea, don't you?” She accused.  
I just turned and started making my way to the door, passing nobody on the way. We'd already stayed five minutes past everyone but the teacher, who was peering at us from over her papers.  
“Let's talk about it on the way. I don't want to be late.” I said, stuffing my schedule back into my pocket and pulling out my phone and the paper heath had handed me. Now seemed as good a time as any.  
The other two followed me back up to the door.  
“What's the rush? We have over an hour before it starts.” Erin asked, pulling the door open for us.  
“Yeah but getting there’ll take forever and I’ll need food before I do this thing.” Veda seemed like the kind of person to start a class off with fifty push-ups or something similar. And if the other teacher was anything like she was, then energy reserves were a must.  
“I'm up for it!” Reilly exclaimed happily. “I didn't eat too much breakfast this morning, and cookies aren't a great substitute. What do you think Erin?”  
“I could eat.”  
“Cool.” I replied, tapping away at my phone. “Hey guys, its leif. Wanna grab some food between class?” For the first text between the three of us, I could probably have done worse. I hit “send.” “Should we go then? Between the three of us, we can probably find a cafeteria somewhere. We probably have enough time for...” I trailed off as I noticed Erin staring at me with great interest. “A decent snack at least. Have you been helped?”  
“So are your friends gonna join us?” she asked.  
I shrugged. “I dunno yet, they haven't replied yet.” How did she know I was texting friends anyway? I didn't think I'd mentioned it. “Why?”  
Erin spread her hands and smiled. “I just wanted to know if they were more likable than you. I mean, you only get to hang out with us 'cause we're in the same classes.” She flipped her hair with over-exaggerated smugness. “And of course, because we're so nice.”  
“Oh yeah!” I snorted. “I’m REAL lucky to have you.”  
Reilly gently pushed past us, shaking their head. “I’m sure they’re nice! But if we want to eat, we’ll have to make it in time. Can you two behave that long?”  
Well what the heck, I guess being nice wouldn't kill me. With an “after you” gesture, I followed the two out of the building and into the morning sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was I thinking when I made this chapter so long, the editing was nightmarish and I'm still not convinced I got everything.
> 
> Anyway, please let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Two teachers, one curriculum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leif suffers through Veda Vendula's class and that most horrible of experiences: imposed exercise.

Have you heard that saying about the best laid plans? Thanks mostly to Reilly, we managed to find our way to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, so did everybody else who went to this school. Faced with lines akin to a theme park, we ended up with just enough time to meet with the others and nab some sandwiches before being forced to leave by the ever encroaching deadline that was the start of class.  
And somehow, this is what lead to the ridiculously in-depth discussion taking place alongside me as we walked to our next class.  
“…I’m not saying that magic has no place in the kitchen.” Said Reilly, huffing slightly as the path’s incline increased. “I just don’t think that it should be used to modify the food itself. It always tastes little off, you know?”  
“You could be right about that last part.” Heath replied around a mouthful of ham on rye. “But I’ve personally never compared the two options side by side. What I do know though, is that food prep is a lot faster when the chef uses magic to help it along. Plus, think of the utility it presents! Enchanters have been able to stave off spoiling by weeks at a time. That alone could cut down on food waste by a huge amount!”  
“And I think that’s incredible!” Reilly agreed emphatically. “But it still alters the taste of the food, and I think both options should exist until the extend of the flavor changes can be studied! After all, the food’s only going to go to waste if it doesn’t taste good!”  
While this passionate exchange continued on my right side, Erin and Sophia held their own meeting on the other. Having no place to enter into either conversation, I settled for listening. Eavesdropping. Whichever.  
“So, where’d you get those clips?” Erin enquired.  
“My clips?” Sophia asked, lightly touching one of the flowers attached to her head.  
“Yeah, your hair clips. I just think they look really cute and was just wondering where you got them from.”  
“Oh! I’m sorry, but I don’t know the specifics. I received them both as gifts.” Sophia pointed to her right clip. “I was given the azalea clip by my mother when I started studying with the sisterhood.” She smiled sadly for a moment, before shaking her head and giving a brighter smile, pointing to her left side. “And the lotus clip was a gift from Sister Jerusha when I left to attend the school. She was my instructor on the basics of healing magic. She practically raised me.”  
“So what you’re saying…” Erin started, disappointment apparent, “…Is that you don’t know where I could get a pair for myself.”  
“Oh! Oh I’m sorry, I did not realize that you were interested in obtaining your own!” Sophia replied. She sounded genuinely regretful. “I do not know where my mother or where Sister Jerusha could have found them. I’m so sorry I can’t help!”  
“Can’t be helped.” Erin shrugged. “It’s just not that common for people to know where their gifts came from.” She leaned close and yelled “Isn’t that right, you eavesdropping bitch?”  
The urge to spasm as she called me out was strong, but like the very in-control, very mature adult that I was, I resisted and responded appropriately.  
“Certainly is, loudmouth.”  
The other conversation had also stopped, and Reilly gave us a chiding look. Heath looked nothing but amused.  
“You two should really be nicer to each other. You’re too alike to argue like this!” Reilly chided.  
“I dunno.” Heath replied, cheerfully clapping his hand on my shoulder. “They might be too alike NOT to argue!”  
I shrugged him off. “I really don’t see it. And you insult me.”  
“Yeah, I just don’t see it either.” Erin joined in, taking a place next to Reilly. “But I do see a big wall, so I’m guessing we made it to class. Hooray.” She waved an imaginary flag.  
The tunnel was brightly lit today, and with actual torches that lined both walls, probably for that all-important authentic feeling, and this time around it was light enough to see that it wasn’t just one tunnel running all the way through. Several smaller paths branched off into the walls, presumably to allow access to the stands and facilities of the building. It was reassuring, in a weird way.  
This time, exiting the tunnel and stepping out into the inside wasn’t nearly as jarring an experience, thanks in part to knowing what was on the other side, but mostly because I wasn’t blinded by the sudden extreme change in light. Thinking on it, the torches must have been magic. They shed too much light to be normal fire.  
The other big difference: it wasn’t just us this time around. There was already a dozen or so people standing maybe fifty feet from the exit, most crowded around a metal stand. Upon approach, I began to recognize some of the students from my first class. The loud guy, Kaleo, was chatting with some tall dude with messy dark green hair, barely contained by a red headband. Green man took a drink from a to-go cup and nodded his head, which seemed to excite Kaleo. Nearby, Adara was writing something down on the metal stand next to a large cooler. She walked away, happily chatting with a taller, dark haired girl. And last was Elizabeth, standing with the two girls from before, arms crossed and toying with her curls. She watched us enter, then turned her back.  
“Decent sized class.” Heath noted, walking ahead of us to the stand. Atop it was a sign-in sheet clipped into a binder, and a pen. Heath quickly signed it, then turned and offered the pen to me. “I’m glad you guys are here. It’d be weird not knowing anybody here.”  
“No offense or anything, but why ARE you here?” Erin asked as I signed my name and passed the pen along to Sophia. “Enchanters aren’t required to take this class, are they?”  
When did he tell her that?  
Heath shrugged. “No real reason, it just looked like a cool class. It’s not a required course, but I still wanted to take it.” He watched as Erin and Reilly finished signing in. “I mean, it can’t hurt to give it a shot, right?”  
Interesting phrasing. “Dunno.” I said, adjusting my bag. “With what we saw of the teacher yesterday, I’d say it could probably hurt a lot.” I glanced around the arena again. “Speaking of, where is she anyway?” I looked to Sophia. “Isn’t class starting soon?”  
She shook her head. “I do not know where she is. But yes, I believe class is scheduled to begin in just a moment. I do not know where Miss Vendula could-”  
“Greetings everyone!”  
Talk faded as the class searched for the source of the voice, but no one could pinpoint its origin. Then Heath nudged my shoulder and pointed at the stands.  
“So am I high,” He asked. “Or is that our gym teacher standing on the railing over there?”  
I squinted. It was. “I must be high too, cause it looks like she’s getting ready to jump.”  
“But she won’t, will she?” Reilly sounded frightened. “That could really end poorly.”  
Apparently, she would. It was hard to tell with the distance between us, but she seemed to crouch down onto the railing, before yelling “WELCOME TO-” and jumping. Though if I’m being honest, the word “jump” doesn’t do credit to the leap she took. She hadn’t just hopped off the railing to fall to the ground, she’d full on sprung forward off the safety railing and high into the air, making it most of the way too us before she actually started falling, and that was the point where she started somersaulting, flipping her way down to Gaea’s embrace.  
I probably should have reacted more, but nobody else spoke either. We all just held our collective breath as she spun down to us, landing a mere ten feet away, legs spread, and knees bent, with one hand against the ground as dust kicked up and the ground cracked from the impact of her landing. It was incredible.  
Looking incredibly pleased with herself, Veda Vendula stood up and, after taking a moment to dust herself off, gave the class a winning smile. “Welcome to ‘Practical Application of Battle Magic, Fitness and Self-Defense!’ Nice to see so many people here on time. I know navigating the school can be rough on your first day, but don’t worry, you’ll be finding your way like pros!”  
Nobody responded. Like me, they were probably still in awe the kung-fu movie dive she took. The main difference here was that I was a part of a small group of people who already knew the woman was insane, so I could only imagine what was running through their minds.  
With some people though, you don’t need to wonder. They’ll tell you exactly what they think.  
“That was rather irresponsible.”  
“Oh, it’s Elizabeth.” Reilly murmured, glancing back at her with a worried look. I couldn’t blame them. I wasn’t sure how it worked in college, but I remembered all too well what happened when students spoke back to teachers in high school.  
To her credit however, Veda didn’t seem too upset for being called out. She just tilted her head with a small smile.  
“Oh?” She asked, gentle curiosity in her voice. “What do you mean?”  
Elizabeth crossed her arms as she answered. “Introducing yourself to the class like that was reckless. You could have hurt yourself or one of us. Above all, terrifying the class with a stunt like that seems irresponsible, especially for a teacher of a school like Amaduran. You should hold yourself to a higher standard.”  
Veda didn’t reply at first. I figured she was as shocked as the rest of us that someone would speak to her like that, even if it might have been the truth.  
After a moment of complete silence, Veda finally smiled again.  
“Wow.” She said, crossing her arms and leaning forward slightly. “You’re pretty outspoken, aren’tcha?”  
“Well I-”  
“She’s right Vee. That stunt wasn’t your smartest decision.”  
And with those words, a tall man with sandy- brown hair breezed right past us and lightly rapped Veda’s shoulder with the binder from the stand. “The jump was cool, but we are their teachers. We should be professional on the first day, don’t you think?” His words had a soft rebuke to them, like he’d expected nothing less.  
“Well sure.” Veda replied, sounding vaguely annoyed. “We could do things by the book and professional. Not to mention boring. Or~…” She spun in place, spreading her arms to gesture to the stadium around her. “We could make the most of what we have and show them just what they’ll be getting into in our classes! Nothing acts as a better introduction than a live demonstration!”  
“True, but they won’t be attempting to jump five-hundred feet like you just did. Well, not yet anyway.”  
Not yet?  
Veda waved him off. “Not important. Anyway, we’re on a schedule, so let’s cut the chit-chat!” With an excited glint in her eyes, Veda marched back over to our group and smiled widely. “Let’s try this again. Hello everyone, and welcome to blah blah blah, my name is Veda Vendula! And this,” She jerked her thumb at the man next to her. “-Is Roman Doruk.”  
Roman inclined his head slightly, sounding a slight jingle from the metal feather hanging from his right ear. “Nice to meet you all. Welcome to class.”  
“And together we’ll be your teachers for PABMFSD class!” She concluded brightly, ticking off her fingers as she spelled it out. “Which we really need a shorter acronym for.”  
“It’s a bit long.” Roman agreed, looking over the sign-in sheet. “But it is a combination of two classes, so it can’t really be helped in the end. And that’s also not very important right now.” He cleared his throat and opened the binder. “Now everyone, if you could please line up right over there, we can get started.” He gestured to our general vicinity. “Get on that, please.”  
The class complied, the twenty-odd of us forming a relatively straight line from the group we started as, leaving me between Heath and Sophia when all was said and done. I was fine with this.  
“Excellent!” Veda shouted. “Now that you’ve all shown the ability to listen, show it off a little more.” She crossed her arms and stood next to the farm calmer Roman. “The foundation of this class is training in self-defense, with and without the use of your magic. I’m sure some of you have just come from Magical Theory and Application, and some of you have probably just come from math or late breakfast or whatever.” She shrugged. “Anyway, our class is different. We teach you on two levels. Magical…” She gestured to Roman, who was still reading over the binder. “…And physical!” She concluded, placing her hand over her heart proudly. “The goal is to build up you up all nice and strong, just in case some monster takes a look and thinks you look tasty. Sound about right, Roman?”  
Roman calmly closed the binder with a nod. “More or less.” He replied, looking over our line of people. “Class is three hours, split between the two trainings. With breaks for water and rest, of course. The goal is to increase your power, skill and overall performance, so things’ll get harder as time passes. We’ll usually start with a workout and general physical work, followed closely by magical instruction.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his thumb on his chin for a moment, then opened them back up to continue. “That said, the grading scale will vary from the norm slightly, as it’s impossible to hold each student to the same standard, given the immense amount of variance from individual to individual. Therefore, we’ll spend today and tomorrow gauging your current statuses and will grade you on your personal performance and improvements from there. Any questions?” He nodded down the line. “Yes?”  
It was Elizabeth again.  
“So what you’re saying,” she began, already sounding like she had an entire rant planned. “Is that we have no fixed scale on which to be judged? If we’re being graded on our improvements, do you compare them between students? And what if someone starts out already better off physically or magically than another person? How can it be fair to them if their improvements aren’t as drastic as someone else, simply due to the fact that they’re already stronger, and can’t improve as much so easily? It doesn’t seem fair that they could be so negatively impacted.”  
I had no proof just then, but I was fairly certain the “better off” person she was referring to was herself. From the apprehensive looks she was getting, I clearly wasn’t the only one.  
The point of her question didn’t seem to slip by the teachers either, but their expressions were less annoyed than any of ours. Veda leaned over to whisper in Roman’s ear, a small smirk playing on her lips. He nodded.  
“That’s a good question, Miss Elizabeth.” Roman replied, jotting a quick note in the binder. “And the answer is quite simple: it wouldn’t be.”  
“Wha-?” she began, eyebrows furrowed.  
“It wouldn’t be fair,” he continued. “Which is why we don’t compare you to each other. As I said before, it’s entirely impossible to judge each person on the same scale of improvement. This is one of the reasons we teach this class together.”  
Veda nodded vigorously. “We know that you’re each going to start with different levels of experience. You of course need a certain level of skill and ability to get into a college, but after clearing that bar there’s no real set average in those catagories.” She spread her hands. “The difference in your physical ability is definitely going to be even more varied. That’s why we work together on this to fully judge just how much you’ve improved, and how much more you can. Our jobs are all about improving you guys, so we obviously need to be able to do that well.” Veda gave a thumbs up. “After the first few days, we can tailor a plan to each of your specific magic types and an exercise and martial routine that works best for each of you. Not to mention general curriculum for the entire class to follow on top of it. I guarantee we won’t let you down!”  
Veda grinned at us, and threw out her hand, pointing to the stadium wall.  
“But before that, I need everyone to run a lap around the arena.”  
“What.” I hadn’t mean to sound that loud, but the jump from inspiration to workout was a little too jarring for my tastes.  
Veda’s smile turned wicked. “We need to see where everyone’s at for cardio. So get running. Now.” She punctuated the last word with a sharp stomp, cracking the ground around in the process.  
Suffice to say, we were motivated. Though not everyone was motivated enough to make it around without slowing, myself included. At the very end, only five students had made it entirely around without stopping once: Heath, Elizabeth, the dark-haired girl, the dude with the headband, and a shorter, dark-skinned man who’s long, kinky hair was pulled back in a tail.  
Ignoring the five freaks, I was impressed with myself. I better at sprinting than endurance, and despite the burning in my lungs that made every gasp feel like I’d stabbed myself, I managed to finish in the middle of the pack. I didn’t even fall over when I was done, well done me.  
Veda and Roman watched silently all the while, chatting amongst themselves and writing in the binder, waiting for the last of the class to finish their trip around. As the final student lumbered up to the group, gasping for breath and nearly fainting, Roman closed the binder and nodded to us.  
“Excellent job, thank you for cooperating with the first test. Some of you may be wondering why we decided to start class with a sudden and laborious bout of exercise.” He paused to look at Elizabeth, who immediately wrapped her hand around her upstretched arm, transforming the presumed precursor to another rant into a stretch. “And it’s only fair we give you one.”  
Roman held up a finger. “To start, we need to gauge where each of you currently are in terms of physical fitness. As previously mentioned, part of class will revolve around physical training, specifically building endurance, and hand to hand fighting and weapon training. As Veda stated-” he waved his free hand at her. “You’re all going to be starting at different levels of fitness. And because it can be hard to fully gauge where people are, we’re going to be spending the first hour or so testing you and compile that information, with your magic coming in a little later.” He held up the binder he’d been writing in for all to see, rapping his fingers against it for emphasis. “That’ll be the basis for your training programs. We’ll fine tune it as classes continue. Any questions?”  
Surprisingly, Elizabeth wasn’t the first with their hand in the air. This time it was Erin. Prior to running, she’d tied her long hair back and it was now flopping heavily against her shoulder, sweat dripping as she loudly panted. Reilly knelt, panting on the ground next to her, their arms shiny as they rolled the overlong sleeves of their sweater up past their elbows.  
At this rate, they wouldn’t make it another five minutes, let alone to the end of class.  
“Yes?” Roman asked, looking only mildly concerned.  
“Can… can we… get some water… or something?” Erin panted, bracing herself on her legs. “I think I’m dying!” She gasped and pointed to Reilly. “We’re dying!”  
They’d also been the among the last to make it around but pointing that out wouldn’t help.  
Roman looked to Veda, who laughed and tossed a hitherto unseen water bottle to the ground next to them. It landed perfectly. “That just means it’s working. But yes, let’s all take a water break! After this we have pushups, squats, crunches, ball tossing, and then one more run, so you’ll all need to stay hydrated.” Erin snatched up the bottle and took a long pull before passing the remaining half to Reilly, who accepted it with a thankful gasp of air.  
Heath wiped what little sweat there was from his brow. The monster was barely even winded after the long run. “So what about the rest of us? Water sounds good right now, you know?”  
Veda walked over to the cooler and placed a foot on it, pushing it smoothly across dirt, dust drifting lightly in its wake. It stopped just short of us, lightly sloshing as its contents shook inside. “Everyone help yourselves,” She said. “There are some light snacks in there too. Be sure to recharge and rehydrate yourselves every class!”  
“The cooler is free game during class, so feel free to take a drink when you feel the need.” Roman added, popping it open and taking a bottle for himself. “Both physical and magical workouts will drain you, so be wary of your body’s needs as we continue on.” He took a quick drink, offering the bottle to Veda as she walked up to him. She accepted. “Grab some water and grab a partner. We’ll be moving on in a few minutes.”  
We were more than happy to comply; the class slouching over to obtain water and take a precious moment to relax before boot camp officially started. Or restarted. Idle chatter filled the air as the group separating out into pairs. That included my group, where Heath took Sophia and Erin left with Reilly, leaving me the sad, lonely leftover. Normally I’d go with someone I already knew, but the odd number in our group forced me to reconsider my options.  
I was alone, bereft a partner. In a sea of pairs, only I knew the pain of solitude. I would be cursed to forever wander a lost soul, unloved and unpartnered with-  
“Excuse me, but do you have a partner?” Adara stood before me with a small smile as she adjusted her tortoiseshell glasses.  
Well that was easy.  
“Uh… no.” I replied. “My friends all paired up without me, so I’m a little lacking in partners at the moment.” I gestured to her. “You?”  
“Oh, me?” Adara scratched at her cheek. “I needed to pray, and people paired up faster than I’d hoped. Everyone else was taken.” She adjusted her glasses and smiled. “I’m glad you were free. It’d be a little embarrassing to have to be alone.”  
Is that just a nice way of saying I’m a loser? “Likewise.” I replied, smiling back. “I’m Leif. You’re Adara, yeah? You’re the one that impressed Professor Hemming.”  
“That’s me.” She replied with a small smirk. “I remember you too. I think you made a good first impression on her. She seemed to like you”  
Oh hello embarrassment, I certainly didn’t miss you. I gave a nonchalant shrug. “Well you know, first impressions are super important, and you’ve got to make sure the teachers remember you. How else will they single you out as their favorite?”  
Adara chuckled and tugged at her hijab. “You’ve got me there. Though I think-”  
“Alrighty then everyone! Grab your partner and gather ‘round, it’s time for round two!”  
Veda was apparently just as loud as she was strong. Everyone obeyed and gathered ‘round while she and Roman handed out worksheets and pencils, one to each pair.  
“Please sign the sheet and use it to keep track of your numbers during the exercises.” Roman called out. “Be exact, it makes it easier for everyone.” He waved his arm in an arc. “Spread out and get ready to exercise.” And we did, each pair finding their own little plot of land to water with their sweat. We could probably grow a forest if we really tried.  
The funny thing about exercise is that no two people are on the exact same level. Thanks to people’s different body types, daily activities, and even the slightly different postures taken when exercising, everyone’s body develops strength in different ways and in different places, even if they follow the exact same routine.  
Why bring this up? Because it meant that as most of us struggled to keep up with what was, in all fairness, a ridiculously comprehensive full-body workout, we naturally started to notice the small amount of people had no trouble keeping it going. And fittingly, they weren’t all the same group of people that had dominated in the earlier lap.  
As one would probably expect, Heath had no issue with any of the exercises. He logically should have had more trouble running like he did, but people can always surprise you. What surprised exactly no one was how he dominated in the first three exercises, namely push-ups, crunches and squats. I guess you don’t get a body like his without a lot of work put in. Elizabeth and the green haired guy seemed to keep pace with him as well, though they seemed to struggle more as the time wore on.  
On a separate vein, the dark haired girl Adara had been speaking to was stationed nearby, and seemed to excel in crunches and leg lifts, Kaleo exclaiming in awe as his partner seemed tireless until Veda called out for us to switch places. He didn’t do so bad himself, but he didn’t come anywhere near her level.  
Over in our little corner of hell, Adara was doing a good job of keeping up, gasping slightly as the minutes wore on in each exercise, but not giving up or stopping, even as exhaustion slowed her movements. I followed suit, working to not fall too far behind my companion’s numbers.  
“You’re not doing too bad.” Adara noted, scribbling down the modest number of squats I’d achieved in the last minute of exercise. She’d finally caught her breath, the time it took to track my reps probably helping. “It doesn’t look like these are all that hard on you.”  
Standing back up, I discreetly rubbed my burning cheeks as Roman called out for everyone to take a break. “I used to do some exercises every day, back in high school.” I explained once he’d finished shouting, thinking back to a simpler time in my life. Well, slightly simpler. The only reason I’d done them was as a deal with my mom. I make sure to up my fitness, and she doesn’t nag me about all the clubs I wasn’t in.  
I’d had more important things to do, those games weren’t going to play themselves.  
Adara nodded as she offered me the clipboard with a smile. “That makes sense. I’m just glad I haven’t fallen too far behind. Everyone seems to be in better shape than me.”  
I “mm”-ed in response, looking at our results. From the data alone, it was clear she wasn’t in bad shape. And considering none of us were prepared for a workout to begin with, she probably could have done better in more suitable clothes. Heck, so could I. Nobody had expected to deal with this level of exercise. Or any level, really.  
“You’re doing good.” I finally replied with what I hoped was a reassuring wave of my free hand. “Excepting pushups, you lasted the full minute each time. That’s more than fine by any reasonable metric.”  
“Oh, that’s good then!” She said, sounding proud. “Do you think we’ll improve much over the semester?”  
A sudden pulse of magic shot through the ground. “Uh…” I peered around her, looking to the source. “Uh-huh. Probably.”  
Adara turned to look too, just as another pulse of energy rolled under our feet, pushing a small, rectangular slab of earth up from the ground where Roman and Veda stood. Roman stomped and another, identical rock rose from the ground, then another and another, the rising earth forming a straight line across the stadium floor.  
“The heck do you think they’re doing?” Heath asked, popping out of nowhere and making me jump. Sophia stood next to him, giving a small wave. I nodded back.  
“I dunno.” I replied, watching as the two teachers discussed amongst themselves, occasionally raising or lowering a rock or two. “Target practice?”  
“Hope not.” Heath said, pushing his fingers through his bangs. “Enchanter’s don’t have a lot of artillery options.” He looked to Adara and grinned, offering his hand. “Name’s Heath. It’s nice to meet you.”  
She shook it and smiled. “I’m Adara, it’s nice to meet you too.” She turned to Sohpia. “And it’s nice to meet you too.  
Sophia smiled, stepping forward to offer her hand. “I am Sophia. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Adara.”  
Adara laughed, taking her hand. “The pleasure is all mine.” She turned back to Heath. “So then why are you in this class? I didn’t know it was meant for enchanters.”  
Heath shrugged. “It sounded fun and they didn’t say no. Plus, self-defense classes are mandatory, so this is probably more fun.”  
Adara nodded, seemingly satisfied. Our teachers seemed satisfied as well, calling everyone over again. I nodded to Reilly and Erin as we regrouped.  
“Attention, class.” Roman tapped his foot on the ground, raising himself up on a small, cubic platform of solid rock. “Thank you all for completing the exercises over this last hour of class. We understand that you may not have been prepared for this ahead of time, and we appreciate you working with us to help provide us with the best data possible for future classes.” He smiled and inclined his head. “Thank you, truly. I know it hasn’t been easy, but I knew you could do it.”  
The face changed with the smile, softening his edges and warming his green eyes like the morning sun warms the trees. Two girls close to me sighed, their postures melting slightly as they gazed at him. A few boys did too. I leaned away from the girls, meeting Elizabeth’s gaze in the process. She narrowed her eyes until I looked away.  
Roman’s smile faded, replaced by a distant calm. “And so, it’s time we move on to the second aspect of this class: magic.”  
Well that seemed to cheer people up. Kaleo released the song of his people, an excited “woot woot!” soon followed by several others. Roman patiently waited for them to quiet down before continuing.  
“As you may recall, today is dedicated to data collecting, and this will be no different. The point of this next exercise will be for us to take note of each student’s different magic typing, to let us fully create the training ideal for each one of you. This will also serve to reveal to each other what you’re capable of, to warn you what to keep an eye out for during class.”  
Roman gestured to Veda, who nodded and walked over to the nearest risen rock chunk, stopping to stand as innocuously as possible next to it.  
“The goal for each of you,” Roman continued. “Will be to use your simplest spells to effect the stones as much as possible. Damage it, change it, it doesn’t matter, so long as you stick to the basics. Yes Elizabeth?”  
We all looked to her again, some with mild annoyance. She’d probably get used to that, if this was her normal way of doing things.  
“What if we have multiple? Should we show them both or simply the first we learned?”  
“You’ll-” Roman started. Veda cut him off.  
“Obviously you should show us all of them, he just said everyone needs to know what to watch out for.” Veda shook her head and rested her elbow against the risen hunk of rock. She was clearly getting impatient. “Pay attention and we can avoid unnecessary questions. We’re low on time as it is. Now does anybody else need clarification?”  
Nobody said anything, though it was obvious from her face that Elizabeth had a few choice clarifications of her own to make. Seemingly satisfied, Veda gestured to Roman, who was rubbing a small circle between his eyebrows. “Please continue Ro.”  
Roman sighed. “Right then, would you demonstrate how we’ll be doing this please?”  
“Okie dokie.” She replied, standing back up and spreading her feet. Turning to the class, Veda gestured to the slab. “So we’ll need each of you to step up to the line in the dirt back there, then tell us your name and magic before casting your spell at one of these things…” she tapped the rock with her knuckle. “To try to break it or whatever your goal will be. Like this.” Taking a small step back from the rock, she turned away from the class to focus on her target. “My name is Veda Vendula, and I use Reinforcement Magic to increase my physical strength, speed and resilience.”  
She sounded stiff, but it didn’t matter. She drew her arm back and intoned “Potentia Est.” I could feel it as the magic in her body, naturally flowing as it did in that of any magi, was sharpened and given direction, flowing to cover her entire body in a layer of power. Lashing out quickly, Veda slammed her fist into the stone, shattering it with a loud crack and peppering the ground before her in shards.  
The entire process had taken all of one second.  
Taking a moment to blow the dust from her knuckles, Veda turned back to the class and smiled brightly.  
“So then, that’s how we’ll be doing it. Any questions?”  
“Doesn’t that hurt?” Someone called from the group.  
Veda chuckled, shaking her head. “Good question, and no, it doesn’t hurt! Like I said, I use reinforcement magic to improve my physical abilities. It would be silly to try to break a rock without protecting my hands.” She gestured to Roman, who was busy removing the remains of the stone and shifting the next slab into place. “Roman and most of the other teachers here can use it too, but not quite to the same level. They’d just hurt themselves if they tried to do the same!” She paused for a moment, then conceded “But breaking the rock their own way is just as good, so it can’t really be held against them. I am a specialist after all.”  
With no more questions to be asked, the class was lined up and the spell slinging began. Most people only used one kind, which was common for those our age. Elizabeth was the first to break the mold, proclaiming and demonstrating her capability in both lighting and wind magic, blasting the rock to pieces with a bolt of electricity and blowing the smoking shards further with a strong, focused gale.  
Elemental magic proved to be the most common, as the next several people threw around the core four elements, with some exceptions. Sophia explained her use of both water and healing magic but declined to do much more than splash the target with a small stream from her water bottle. The dark haired girl from earlier, named Hannah, slid up to the target afterwards and kicked out at it, covering it in a heavy layer of ice, which was blown apart by a simple energy blast from an Olive skinned man with red hair named Tarmo, and the next rock melted into a steaming puddle by the Acid magic of the brown haired of Elizabeth’s two friends, Stella.  
Finally, Erin stepped forward and raised her hand. “I’m Erin Lalita. Yeah I can’t do this.”  
“Oh, why’s that?” Veda asked distractedly, watching as Roman had Stella reduce the potency of the acid. It was still melting the ground around the target.  
Erin rolled her hair between her fingers. “My magic just doesn’t really affect rocks or anything, so I can’t really take part in this.”  
Veda stretched her arms above her head, cracking her knuckles in the process. “Alright fair, but the point of the exercise still stands. Just tell us about your magic and that should be enough for now. I think that sounds fair.” She rapped on Roman’s chest as he walked up to them. “Does that sound fair?”  
“We’ll have to extend the offer to everyone with the same issue, but yes. It sounds fair.” He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. “Alright then, everyone who share’s Erin’s problem, please raise your hand. We’ll get your details after class.” He turned back to Erin. “Go ahead please.  
Erin crossed her arms and mumbled, not looking at anyone in particular.  
“It helps when we can hear what you say dear.” Veda said, making coaxing gestures. “We all have to know, remember?”  
Reilly smiled encouragingly, patting their friend’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” they whispered, barely audible to anyone less than a foot away. “It’s their job to understand. Nobody here will hate you for it.”  
Erin sighed and looked back up. “Mental magic. Reading minds and other freaky shit.”  
Ah, that explained a bit. Roman nodded and scribbled it down.  
“Does anyone else want to be exempted from rock breaking?” Veda called out  
A few more people raised their hands, including Reilly.  
“Temperature magic.” Reilly stated. “I can manipulate temperature, but I don’t use fire or ice magic.”  
“I use transformation magic.” Said Jo, the other guy from the run’s top five finishers. “Avian Transformation and a little bit of air magic.”  
“Blood magic.” Alleged Adara. “I’m okay with it, but it might disturb people to see me cut myself.”  
Welp, here we go. “Spacial magic.” I said, raising my hand. “I’m a teleporter.”


	8. Fractions

“I’m never forgiving my sister for this.” I growled, gripping the table with whitening knuckles. “This is unjustifiable! She’ll pay for this if it’s the last thing I do!”

Erin snorted, taking a sip of her latte. “That seems a little overdramatic for algebra homework, but whatever works for you man.” She took another sip and flipped the page of the textbook, eyeing me over the rim of her cup. “But for someone so decent at it, you show an unnecessary hatred towards math. It’s not like the first week’s been all that hard for you.”

I glowered at Erin, taking a gulp of my third hot chocolate of the hour. The library café staff hadn’t cut me off yet and getting through studying a most evil of subjects called for comfort food.

“Being good at something doesn’t mean liking it latte-breath. I’d be good at punching myself in the face, but I wouldn’t want to”

She shrugged. “Well choco-brain, it seems like you’re just gonna have to suck it up. Now stop whining, we made a deal: I help you with history and you help me with math. Then we can all go find something stupid and fun to do for the rest of the weekend.”

The first week had gone by quickly, with most of my time predictably being taken up by my classes. Heath had been right about getting used to the campus, it was happening. Slowly. I held that the buildings should have been built with more distinctions, but I was finally starting to figure out the paths I needed to take to get to my classes or the food courts on time. Still, I found that following either Sofia or Reilly usually worked out for the best. I’d tried with Heath one more time before just giving up on him. The man would struggle finding the bathroom in the dark if it wasn’t right across from his room.

Class was generally worth the struggle though, and with my schedule memorized I could finally plan accordingly, though they weren’t without their hang-ups. I’d expected the regularity of Magic Theory and magic gym class going into this, I just hadn’t expected history and algebra twice a week as well.

Or maybe I’d just hoped they wouldn’t be that often.

I glared down at my notebook, silently resenting it for containing the symbols of cruelty both me and my friend been forced to etch into it over the last hour.

“Aww, you called me your friend!” Erin crooned, slouching over the table and grinning up at me. “I didn’t know you cared.”

I gave her a “why would you think that?” look and flicked her with my pencil. She stuck her tongue out. It was odd, getting used to the regularity in which the people around me used their magic. Surprisingly, Erin’s tendency to respond to people’s thoughts had been one of the easier things to get used to. At least she didn’t accidentally start fires or generate a swarm of semi-corporeal bees. Her magic was fine, but the girl herself was another story.

“It’s mostly out of desperation.” I replied. “You’re the only person I have here, so it’s not like I have better options.”

“Psh, liar. You know you just love each moment you’re allowed to spend in my awesome presence. I’d be so out of your league if I didn’t need you for math.”

I snorted and scribbled the last numbers in the equation. “Yeah, you know me: I cherish every second I spend with annoying people. It makes me feel better about my own personality.”

Erin gripped her chest, dramatically swooning. “Oh my, how could you say that about your own friend?! I thought we had a connection, but your words! How they sting my fragile heart!”

It would have been corny enough without the southern accent. I snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure it just sears that blackened abyss you have instead of a soul. Now let’s get this over with, I want to be doing anything else.”

“Oh fine.” She looked to her book, scratching the next equation onto the paper.

I followed suit, barely pausing to finish my calculations. _X, your identity is mine._

“You’re a dork.” Erin whispered, scratching away at her math. “And this isn’t working! Why are fractions a thing? It’s like they only exist to make math harder!”

I glanced over at her paper, confused as to how the one problem now managed to fill eight lines of ruled paper.

“Do you want some help?” I politely asked. “And maybe another notebook for when you’re done filling this one with wrong answers?”

If looks could kill, Erin’s would have set the library on fire. “Sure, some _help_ would be nice. HELP. Not sassy sarcasm. Sarsassim.”

I shrugged. “It’s all I’m really known for, but I’ll do my best.” I glanced back at the page. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how she’d managed to mess up so badly. “Did you remember to flip the first fraction for division?”

Erin looked over her paper in silence, finally replying “No.”

“Did you remember to use the diagonal reduction method where you could?”

Another, shorter silence followed. “No.”

“Did you remember to rearrange the sides to put the like numbers together?”

Erin didn’t even reply this time, she just planted her face into the book and groaned.

Eesh, math was certainly not her strong suit. “No then.”

Another moan. This wasn’t going well.

“Okay fine then, stop making out with your book and let’s walk through it from the beginning. Sound alright?”

Erin slowly sat back up, looked me in the face, and groaned an affirmative.

“Alright then grumbles, re-write the problem. Let’s do this.”

Ten minutes and two migraines later, we gave up. Or rather, I gave up and Erin set about trying to light the page on fire with her eyes again. Even after looking up the answer, we still couldn’t find our way to it. We were done.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Erin finally yelled, startling a nearby reader into dropping his book. “Let’s just ask Mister Ru before class on Tuesday, this is driving me insane!”

“Agreed!” I grumbled, glaring down at my now empty cup. “He’ll probably understand, it’s not like this stupid thing means anything anyway.” Making a class where only test scores counted towards the final grade was a stupid idea, but that hadn’t stopped them from running the math class that way.

“It’s pretty dumb.” Erin agreed. “Hi Kaleo, I know you’re there.”

The man in question had been slowly sneaking up behind Erin, books in one hand, the other reached out, presumably to try to startle her. Kaleo let out a huff of disappointment and dropped into a chair next to us, setting down a small pile of books.

“Mind reading takes all the fun out of surprises, you know that?” He waved to me. “Hey Leif.”

“Yo.”

Erin rolled her eyes and reached out to check his books. “Well either stop trying so often or learn to think quieter, ‘cause you’re not getting me like this. Also, why do you have two books on dogs and one on…” She squinted at the small book in her hand. ‘The Timeline and Impact of the Saharan Mage War’? I don’t see the connection.”

Kaleo adjusted the headphones around his neck. “My roommate’s girlfriend is buying a dog, he asked me to grab some books, so they can pick the best breed for her apartment.”

“Why couldn’t he do it?” I asked, standing up with my empty cup. “Also, I’m getting another cup. If anybody has cash, I can grab you something from the café.”

“Well he’s sick.” Kaleo replied. “And I’m all good here, thanks.”

“Yes you are.” Erin chimed in. “And I’d better not, I shouldn’t have spent the money on the first one to start.” She waved me off. “Go ahead, indulge your addiction. We’ll be here.”

“Cool then.” I turned to leave, stopping as Erin reached out and grabbed my shirt.

“Need something?”

She looked disappointed. “You were planning to walk down there, weren’t you?”

“It’s generally what legs are used for, so yeah.”

Kaleo narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said you were a teleporter.”

“Because I did and I am, why do you care?”

“Well it’s just…” he trailed off.

“You never freaking do it.” Erin finished bluntly, jabbing her finger at me. “You’ve never teleported, not even in Battle Magic and we’ve had three class periods.”

I squinted at them. “We spent the last three days on physical fitness and self-defense. Have you checked the syllabus? We’re not even starting on the “magic” part of “Battle Magic” until sometime next week.”

Kaleo shrugged me off. “Yeah dude, but you didn’t show off your magic on the first day either. I mean, neither of us really did either, but everyone knows what we can do.” He gestured to Erin. “She reads everyone’s minds all the time, and everyone on campus has heard me a few times.

Happy as I was that he recognized his volume problems, I didn’t especially like being called out like that. _I don’t have to prove myself to them._

“Yes you do.” Erin said, poking my arm. “You definitely do.”

“He has to do what?”

“Prove himself to us. He never teleports, so he has to prove he can.”

Kaleo’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh~. Yeah dude, you gotta prove it. I mean, you can teleport! I’d do it all the time if I could!”

I sighed. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed having this argument every time someone found out about my magic, just showing them would be easier.

“Fine. Behold and be amazed.” I waggled my fingers and walked away.

“We can do that, we can definitely do that.” Kaleo replied, following me excitedly. Erin followed after, more smug than excited. She knew she’d won this round.

It was lucky we’d chosen to study up on the second floor, the ledge not far from our table gave an excellent view of the floor below. Stopping at the railing to reorient myself, I took note of the café near the entryway. There didn’t seem to be a line and there was more than enough empty space to suit my purposes. Not that I need much space to work with, only as much as I take up. But it’s better to play it safe.

A moment’s calculation, and I was ready to go. _“Jump.”_ I intoned, releasing a light surge of magic, and the scenery around me just changed, the railing and wooden tables of the study area switching out for the linoleum flooring, stools and counterspace of the café.

As cool as teleportation sounds, it’s not really all that amazing an experience. You might expect a bright light, a flash of smoke or a loud sound, maybe the feeling of moving past everything at light speed. There’s nothing like that, at least not for me. You’re just suddenly not where you were. That’s all that teleportation is: moving from one spot in space to another, never touching the area in between. Kind of mundane, really.

Admittedly when I first started, I’d felt a rush each time, and it had been hard getting used to it at first. The sudden immediate change in the environment gave me headaches when I was younger, even making me throw up after repeated uses. But now that I was long since used to it, it didn’t feel bad or good, and my body and mind caught up almost as instantaneously as I had moved. To me, it was just as normal as hopping side to side, just with more to think about in between jumps.

That said, it was far less normal to the people around me, especially when they weren’t expecting it. The lack of activity had apparently bored Tony the barista, as when I popped in he’d been leaning against the counter, eyes glazing over. He took my sudden appearance the way most people do. Badly.

“HOLY ANGEL OF MERCY!” He shrieked, throwing himself backwards and halfway up the back counter in shock.

It had been a while since I’d gotten such a reaction from someone, thanks in no small part to the fact that I tend not to teleport around new people for that very reason. But I’d be lying if I said a small, childish part of me didn’t enjoy it. I always enjoyed it, just a little.

I’m only human.

“Hey Tony, sorry to pop in like this, but I was hoping I could grab another hot cocoa?” I kept my voice light and casual, carefully free of any mirth that I totally wasn’t feeling at his expense.

Tony took a deep breath and lowered himself back to the floor. “Damnit Leif, you almost gave me a heart attack! What the heck even was that?”

I shrugged a shoulder. I’d forgotten that he wasn’t in any of my classes, so he had no way of knowing I could do that. Then again, considering how little I teleported around people, even Heath wasn’t fully used to it, and I lived with the guy. On the other hand, it hadn’t even been a full week since classes had started. I wasn’t used to what some of the other students could do yet either.

“Magic.” I replied offhandedly. “By the way, you left a mark.” I gestured to the counter behind him, where a scorched imprint of his hand was still smoking on the side of a metal machine. I don’t know which one, it was probably used to make coffee.

Tony rolled his eyes. “It’ll clean right off, I just have to report that later.” He looked back at me, clearly unimpressed. “And no shit it was magic, where do you think we are?” He gestured around with one hand.

I smiled. Given that roughly ten percent of the population had an inherent talent for it, magic wasn’t all that uncommon a thing to see or talk about, at least on a small scale. That said, nobody took “magic” as an answer for things, which only made it more fun to say.

“Yeah, yeah. But given where we are, should you be swearing like that?” I widened my eyes in dramatic concern, clutching my hands together. “What if an impressionable youth were to hear such wicked words? The good name of _‘Bean Up’_ would be ruined forever!”

Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to the machines. “Like I care. Three semesters at this job and the biggest highlight of any day is talking to dicks like you.” I knew he said it with love. Nobody could resist my lack of charm.

Setting my cup on the counter, he took my money and leaned back against a wall. “That’s your fourth cup today. I think I’ll have to cut you off.”

I snorted and took a cautious sip of my cocoa, but I needed have bothered. Tony always made it cool enough to drink right away. “Don’t you start.” I replied, walking to the door and peering back up at my friends near the ledge. “Erin’s already calling it an addiction, I don’t need you on me too.” I paused, opening the class door to let the green haired kid from class through, who nodded in thanks.

“Don’t drink so much then, you’ll end up like Vinal here.” Tony called after me as I walked out, focused on the ledge, and jumped back up again.

Popping back up onto the second floor, I steadied my cup as I dropped a couple inches to the ground. Despite my best efforts, a small amount slopped out of the lid hole, catching on the rim. I hastily sucked it out, hoping to avoid dribbling on anything important.

“So do you think it’ll be any good?” Kaleo’s back was turned to me as he spoke to Erin, excited curiosity in his voice. “The early reviews all say it’s amazing! Apparently Toby Arlington really outdid himself this time! They say he’s the director of our generation!”

Erin shrugged and adjusted her position on the table, scooting herself forward. “I dunno, it might be a case of overhype this time. His last few movies were good, but they’re hardly what you’d call groundbreaking. I don’t get why he’s so popular right now.”

“Because he’s great! He acts and directs every movie he’s in, and they’re all some of the biggest hits of the year! Not only tha-”

“Whatcha talking about?” I asked, rewarded by Kaleo’s startled leap back, or rather forward, nearly crashing into Erin in the process.

“Demon Sacks!” Kaleo turned to glare at me, his headphones hanging crooked on his neck. “Don’t be a dick, Leif! Warm me next time!”

I shot a look past him to Erin, who was suddenly very interested in her nails. “Right, I don’t know what I was thinking, not warning you. Next time I’ll make more noise or something.”

He nodded, satisfied. “Well good. And it’s ‘The Last Bastian.’ It’s getting to the theater in town tomorrow, and I’ll be there for the very first show!”

“Oh, I see.” I replied, nodding thoughtfully. I’d seen the trailer for the movie a while back and hadn’t given it much thought. It looked like your average dramatically suspenseful movie trailer. But then, I’d been too impatient to watch the movie I was actually there for to worry about the trailers, so another look might be good. “So are you going alone or…?” I glanced over to Erin, hoping she’d fill in the blank.

“Theater’s too expensive.” Erin replied shortly, packing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’ll just wait for the online release, date like everybody else on a budget.”

“And I’m going with Vinal.” Kaleo added. “He likes horror movies I guess. I didn’t get a lot of details before he had to go.”

“Speaking of,” I said, jerking my thumb back over my shoulder. “I just saw him in the café. You might still be able to catch him.”

“Ah sweet, thanks Leif! I’ll let you know the movie time, if you’re interested later!” And with an excited smile he took off.

Erin and I watched him go.

“So were you guys just not impressed, or…?

“Hm? Oh no, it was pretty cool. You just took too long and we moved on to other subjects.”

“Ah. Doesn’t the movie come out in like, two months? Also, think he knows he left his books behind?”

“He’ll probably remember them later.” Erin said, shrugging nonchalantly. “God he’s cute. So what’s left for you today? You still have another class left, right?”

I nodded as we started walking away. “Demonology. Taught by Gunnar, I think. It’s a once a week thing.” I pulled out my phone to make sure, checking the online schedule. Yup, every Friday at three-thirty, Clyde Gunnar as the teacher. Oddly enough, his was the only class that didn’t require a book. The cashier at the student bookstore seemed to find the idea hilarious.

Erin chuckled. I had no doubt she’d read my mind just then. “Oh him. Yeah, you’re in for a treat buddy.” I didn’t like how that sounded.

“Any chance you might just TELL me what to expect?”

“And ruin the surprise? Not a chance, choco-boy.” She blew a kiss as we left the building, walking off toward the dorms. I made a show of dodging it. “I’ll see you later!” She called back, sticking her tongue out again. “Tell me all about it when we hang out later!”

I rolled my eyes. I had other plans for that night. And after Veda, I doubted any teacher could offer too much of a surprise anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this out, I just started writing a dnd campaign on top of everything else.


	9. Quick Update

Hello everyone, I'm still alive. As is the story.

I'm sorry for the complete absence of updates, 2020 played hell with my mental health and I've been kept busy and mentally exhausted by work and school. Ironically, being an English major doesn't leave you with much time for writing. 

That said, I do still plan to continue the story this year, and the good news is that I have one chapter that just needs to be edited and another that's about half-done. I'll put it up as soon as I can, so I'd like to thank the three of you who are still interested for your patience.

I hope you're all doing well.

**Author's Note:**

> There'll be more updates in a couple days, after I've proofread and decided I don't hate what I've written.
> 
> Feedback is welcome, but not required.


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